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This past weekend was Miss Teenage Ontario 2015 and I am sure I don’t only speak for myself when I say it was an amazing weekend. Fourty contestants from all across Ontario came together to compete for a spot at Miss Teenage Canada 2015. The group of girls were very passionate and had personalities that I couldn’t help but adore.

Provincial title holders from 2014

Not only did I have the opportunity to meet all of the beautiful contestants, but I also had the chance to reunite with the girls who were past title holders from 2014. It was a bitter sweet weekend since the 2014 title holders reigns had ended and a new beginning for the finalists will begin.

Crowning the new Miss Teenage Ontario

Having fun after the crowning

A huge congratulations to all of the finalists, and to Michela Pirruccio the newly crowned Miss Teenage Ontario 2015. To the new title holders, the road ahead is an amazing adventure, full of many opportunities and hard work, but every moment is worth it. I am so proud of all of you, live in this moment and enjoy your reign.

Megha Sandhu, Miss Teenage Canada 2012 Just Landed a International skin care commercial. We will reveal the name of the product when it comes out. MTC – recommended her to one of our Agency affiliates Peace Management and she booked the JOB! WAY TO GO MEGHA!!!

This past Wednesday, I had the pleasure of attending Chair Affair, a fundraising gala in support of Furniture Bank. The Furniture Bank is a charity and social enterprise that transfers gently used furniture and household goods donated to them to people who are in need.

The first time I visited Furniture Bank, I was inspired from the get-go by their commitment to empower lives. When the team asked me to design a chair for their upcoming event I was incredibly excited and got to work right away.

My chair was featured in the silent auction along with 30 other beautifully refurbished chairs.

“The inspiration for my chair redesign was to create a stylish pageant chair for a young girls room. I used the material from one of the gowns I wore when I competed for Miss Teenage Canada because the colour, sequins and ruffles made it fun to create this ideal transformation. The dress meant a lot to me when I competed because it made me feel confident and I looked like a princess. Further more, the evening gown portion of the night allows the judges to see your poise, grace and personality on stage. I want a young girl sitting in this chair to feel as inspired and special as I did on stage when I was wearing it.”

The event was a huge success and I had the pleasure of meeting some fantastic people, including a few young fans. One lucky girl, walked away feeling like a princess with her new Miss Teenage Canada throne.

After my crowning in July, I had the incredible opportunity to be interviewed on Global News. Since I had never spoken on any news station before, it was very exciting when I arrived, I even showed up an hour early! I remember being in the dressing room placing about a dozen bobby pins in my hair to hold up the crown, when I met Rosey Edeh, one of the hosts of the segment I was going to be on. Rosey was very kind and definitely helped calm my nerves. She even found a way to get me more excited than I was, by telling me that one of the hosts would be Yendi Phillips, a former Miss Jamaica.

Backstage: I remember being backstage with 56 ladies all done up and ready to go, well as ready as you can be going out into a crowd of people of that number. We were dancing and laughing-nervously-while the intro music was playing, all of us were excited for the opening number song to begin and for the Top 20 to be called. I moved to the far curtain of the stage and saw my family in the left section of the audience all waiting anxiously to support me. When my uncle Frank noticed me backstage, he caught my attention and we started to dance together, we went back and forth laughing and acting silly, enjoying each beat of the music. At that moment, any of my nerves had turned into pure excitement. This was my night, and no matter the outcome, I was happy to to enjoy it. My family had come out from Winnipeg, England and Italy to come support me for this one night. They believed in me, and no matter what happened, they were proud. I was shot with adrenaline, I walked onto the stage for opening number thinking, “this is it”. I have dreamed of this day to come for so long and it was finally there.

Top 20: When I was called into the top 20, I was so happy to be recognized. This allowed me to competed in the swimwear portion which was a lot of fun. Fitness and wellness is an important part of my life, and after hours of “sweating it out” at the gym it was fun to go on stage and feel like a model. I later found out that I had been fast tracked into the Top 20 for swimwear, as much as fitness is important to me, I was incredibly surprised! Check out the the swimsuit segment here, I am featured at 6:45: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6jez3z9kc-U

Top 10: Next, I was called into the Top 10 and it was incredibly exciting! It was time for evening gown to begin and I finally had my dress ready. About an hour before the finals night began I had tried on my evening gown and realized that it was about an inch too long. The options were to either leave it up to luck and pray that I won’t trip, or, to attempt to trim it myself and play it safe. To save the potential embarrassment, I grabbed a pair of scissors and asked two of my friends to hold the dress while I trimmed along the edge, which seemed as though it was a kilometer of fabric. So, backstage before evening gown began, all I had to worry about was to smile and enjoy my time on stage feeling like a princess.

Top 5: I was called last into the Top 5 and it was almost impossible to keep my excitement in. I wanted to scream, cry and smile, thankfully I only stuck with smiling when on stage. I went backstage and realized my roommate had made it in the Top 5 as well, we jumped up and down and screamed. This was it, we had all made it so far. We then competed in onstage questions, which was definitely my favorite portion of the pageant. As nerve racking as it can be, I promised myself that I would answer genuinely and be myself, there was no need to be nervous. Here is a home video of my answer: https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=719136084807527

The last few moments before the crowning.

The final moment: Fourth runner up had been named, then third, then second, and I was left to the final two. I was holding hands with Chrystalle Omaga, and I held my breath. Miss Teenage Canada was about to be chosen, and at that moment, which felt more like an eternity, I looked back on my entire experience with the pageant. I knew I had done my very best, and what ever would happen I was so proud. Then it was announced, “Francesca McFadden is your next Miss Teenage Canada 2014!”. I finally breathed.The moment my name was called as Miss Teenage Canada 2014, I was in utter shock. Although I had imagined that moment 100 times over, the actual moment of winning was far beyond my expectations. I felt inspired, and I didn’t think it was possible to be able to inspire yourself. My passion and hard work had all come to this one moment, on July 26th 2014 I achieved my dream. Check out the video of my crowning: http://genesismultimedia.tv/mtc2014/mtc2014crowning.html

July 26th, 2014, Toronto Ontario, Francesca McFadden, 17, was crowned Miss Teenage Canada, 2014 at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre. Francesca is passionate about education and received the Academic Brilliance award at her high school with a 96% average. This September, she will be studying Medical Sciences at McGill University in Montreal and plans to become a surgeon. Francesca volunteered at Sunnybrook Hospital in the Reconstructive Surgery Department for a year and also raised over $2,200 dollars for Free the Children

The girls had a long day spent practicing their walks and dances all morning. Then rehearsing with Shawn Cuffie, our choreographer from DLM Entertainment.

They finished of their day with an evening made for princesses. The girls and I got all dressed up and headed over to Medieval Times. We were all placed on the red team which was one of the 6 teams in the tournament. Our arch enemies, the green team, put up a great fight to try and over power our chants, but turns out these princesses could be pretty competitive! We had so much fun cheering on our victorious Red Knight! All of our voices were sore by the end of it! I was really excited because the knight threw me one of the flowers. That’s when I felt most like a princess! I can’t wait until the next time I go back!

We were up a little less early and were off and running by 6am today where we headed to the Shaw Cable Studio to first off film our Global Toronto segment.

During the segment I was able to talk about my year as a title holder and the upcoming pageant. The host, Rosie and I then pulled names of the delegates from a bowl, the contestant chosen would then come up and pull a question that they would then have to answer on air, LIVE! Talk about pressure! All the girls answered very well, I was really impressed!

We had a short break before we film our next segment for Global NATIONAL! We had the same premise, just a shorter segment. I had a great time and it was a very cool experience!

We then headed to the CN Tower to check out the amazing view of Toronto! I found myself a lot less scared of the glass floor this time, I was pretty proud of myself! It was a lot of fun before because myself and the other girls had a lot of people asking for pictures from tourists and other people visiting the tower!

That evening we headed to the Eaton Shopping Centre for some shopping! We were all very excited to be wearing our new Hi-Tec Sandals so we could get some serious power shopping in. The Eaton Centre generously provided myself and all the girls with a $10 gift card so we could get some supper at the Urban Eatery! Overall it was a lot of fun!

To view more pictures see my MISS TEENAGE CANADA album on my facebook page:

Started off the morning WAY too early!! We were off and running at 5 am and headed to Breakfast Television. It was so cool to be on tv and be the center of attention this time. The other girls that were interviewed as well did very well.

We then had a visit from the ladies at Schwartznkoff Professional. They taught the girls tips and tricks for backcombing, curling, up dos and braids. Then put their new skills to the test with a braids and buns challenge for some extra swag. All the girls were able to take home the Dust It Flex and the Salt Spray.

We then had lunch provided by Panera Bread. It was both healthy and delicious!

After lunch, we headed to Yorkdale Mall where we received a $25 gift card to Bench! They have so many cute clothes there! The employees were awesome and were taking poloroid pictures of us to take home. I spent a lot of the time outside the store taking pictures with everyone that was passing by which was so much fun! We then received $10 gift cards for supper to spend at the food court provided by Yorkdale Mall.

After shopping, the girls headed back to start rehearsals with our choreographer, Shawn Cuffie.

For more photos visit my MISS TEENAGE CANADA album on my Facebook page:

The girls spent the day first off in hair and make up provided by our sponsor Motives By Loren Ridinger. Then went off to do their official photo shoots, video shoot and interview with judges. Great way to start off the week!

These lovely ladies provided me with my hair and make up for the night and a spray tan that will last me the whole week! I felt amazing!! They are the official tanning & eye lash extension sponsor for Miss Teenage Canada!

Motives showed off their amazing foundation and let all the girls try it out. The girls were able to take home a nail polish colour of their choice. Thank you Motive for providing the hair and make up for all the delegates for their official photo shoot, preliminary competition and for finals night!

All the girls are arriving to Toronto today so I thought I would post all the videos I have made for them in case they need any final pick me ups before the week begins!

Over the past month, aside from the videos I made with the 2013 national finalists, I made a few of my own videos for the girls, one answering all their questions, one answering all their questions about the judges and one just my final advice to them and things that I really felt were helpful to me over nationals week. Check them out!

This was my first time in 4 years not participating on a team at Relay For Life Saskatoon. Since I couldn’t let the day go by without showing up at least for a little bit I went as a volunteer! Once I got there though there were an overflow of volunteers so they didn’t really have a job for me unfortunately but I did get to visit and say hi to the friends I knew.

It was so cool to see my old friends that were on first, second and third teams still continuing to participate in the relay in one way or another! Props to them for staying out all night in the rain and the cold! Hopefully next year I will be able to participate again!

Canadian Mental Health Awareness

I had the pleasure of being invited to an event for mental health awareness in Saskatoon. It was a relatively small event but I was able to meet the drummer of the band The Sheepdogs, Sam Corbett, who was also the guest speaker that night. He was a very down to earth kind of guy and it was very cool to meet someone from my hometown who was on the cover of the Rolling Stone!

There were presentations on how to prevent mental illness in the workplace and then Sam was able to tell his story of his struggle with anxiety which developed during the bands year of rapid success. It was really interesting to hear how he came to terms with the fact that something just wasn’t right and how he now is able to cope with it. It was definitely an event I was glad to be at.

Saskatoon Children’s Festival

For the second year in a row, I was able to help out at the Children’s Festival in Saskatoon. This year I was able to watch the ERTH Dinosaur Show which was super cool! I also was able to have a one on one photo op with the biggest and meanest Dinosaur they had! He was super sweet

I was also able to hand out prizes to the dozens of kids waiting in line of face painting which is their most popular attraction! I’m definitely thinking of possibly volunteering next year, it’s definitely one of my favourite event and getting called a princess never gets old!

Right after a week of relaxing in Disney World, I went home, repacked, slept, got up, and headed back to the airport where I headed to Sudbury, Ontario for the Miss North Ontario Pageant. The Miss North Ontario pageant is a partner of the MTC organization so they are a qualifying pageant for the Miss Teenage Canada Nationals.

I was a little nervous going into this because it was a three day pageant and nothing like my provincial pageant! Over the course of three days, the contestants went through various motivational and emotionally changing workshops as well as workshops that also focused on the competition. Cheryl, the director of MNO, choose to focus more on personal development rather than the competition aspect of the pageant. I had seen so much growth over these young ladies in such a short amount of time, I couldn’t believe my eyes. I honestly could write so much about this but I really need to condense it but most importantly, this was definitely one of the highlights of my year and I’m considering flying out next year just to help out! Thank you Cheryl for your kindness and generosity and big Congratulations to Jessie Must on being crowned Miss North Ontario 2014.

Miss & Miss Teen Maritimes International

After a quick trip to Edmonton to see Luke Bryan, I traveled to Shediac, New Brunswick to attend the Miss & Miss Teen Maritimes pageant. This again was a regional qualifying pageant for MTC but was not run by MTC. It was a 3 day long pageant where I got to participate with the girls in their challenges, rehearsals and activities. I think the best parts of it was meeting the past titleholders, hanging out with my good friend Shyann who was Miss Teen New Brunswick 2013 and doing a spontaneous photo shoot on the beach with MEG Photography and Miss Maritimes 2013!

Huge thank you to Marc (JWOW) for having me out and Congratulations to Miss Teen New Brunswick International 2014, Shelley, Miss Teen PEI International 2014, Chloe, Miss New Brunswick International 2014, Lynn, Miss PEI International 2014, Jessica, Miss Teen Maritimes International 2014, Sarah and Miss Maritimes International 2014, Janna.

Good Luck to Brianna Keith, who accepted her title of Miss Teenage New Brunswick 2014 and Ashley Cameron, who accepted her title of Miss Teenage Prince Edward Island 2014. Both girls will be in Toronto with me tomorrow to compete of the Miss Teenage Canada 2014!

Although I wasn’t there, I heard that all the finalists did a wonderful job. Big congratulations to Chrystalle Omaga on taking home the provincial title as well as the rest of the national finalists! I can’t wait to meet you girls tomorrow in Toronto!

My apologies to the 2013 Manitoba National Finalists as I didn’t get a chance to post this prior to their provincial competition but here is the advice that the former nationals finalists had for the 2014 provincial finalist before their regional pageant:

I have to send out a very late but big congratulations to my provincial successor, Michaella Shannon who won the title of Miss Teenage Saskatchewan 2014. Although I wasn’t there, I sure you as well as the other finalists did amazing! Can’t wait to meet you girls tomorrow!

The Dress Program focuses on girls who can’t afford a dress for their graduation. The Princess Shop receives donations from local dress stores as well as past graduates which provides applicants for the dress program with a beautiful selection of dresses to choose from so that they can feel like a princess on their graduation day.

The Fairy Godmother Program provides Princess Graduates with a mentor (or Fairy Godmother) who is there to help and support them as they continue on through life and to help them make their ambitions into reality.

Finally The Next Chapter Program is a Scholarship Program that provides Princess graduates with a scholarship for post secondary or living expenses through the donations and help of the community.

I was so thankful I got to meet some of the beautiful graduates and hear their stories. They are all incredible young women and I can’t wait to see what the world holds for them!

The Jeans & Jewels Gala

This was an event I had been looking forward to for months! This was a large fundraising gala for the Children’s Hospital Foundation Of Saskatchewan which is a charity that I was blessed enough to work closely with this year. I had so much fun meeting all of the staff and helping with some of the raffles.

My favourite thing was meeting this lovely young lady. Her name is Amisha and she is 10 years old. Amisha was born with Microtia. For Amisha this means she was born without her outer and middle ear, her head was deformed, her spinal cord tethered and one of her kidneys was performing at about 30%. She has undergone reconstructive ear surgery, spinal surgery and continues to have her kidney’s monitored to ensure that kidney failure doesn’t affect her health. I actually had the pleasure of meeting her briefly when I was handing out awards at the Western All Canadian Pageant in Saskatoon where Amisha and her brother were competing! She is an incredible girl, she is so inspirational and we had way too much fun together. She was a reminder of why I love what I do and why I want to continue to be involved with the CHF.

Luke Bilyk is a Canadian Actor, Currently Best known for his role in Degrassi as Drew Torres-Started in Season 10, Luke has also starred in Numerous Film & Television to name a few~Dry Wiskey, Cartoon Gene (Pilot), Gooby The Movie, recurring role on Really Me & starred in Flashpoint-“TheWar Within”, Host- America’s Next Top Model Live 2012, Cast “Party With Degrassi” Mini Tour 5 cities in the USA and featured in 20+ TV Commercials.

Cynthia Loewen is currently studying Biological Sciences and French in the Faculty of Arts and Science at the University of Windsor. Having competed in pageantry since the age of 16, Cynthia holds the title of Miss Teenage South-Western Ontario 2010, and Miss Earth Ontario 2012. She placed first runner-up to Miss Earth Canada 2012, and placed second-runner up at the Miss Face of Beauty International pageant in Thailand in December of that year, while representing Canada. Having a strong background knowledge in biological conservation, Cynthia has founded and implemented a bilingual “Green Education” program in local schools. During her reign as Miss Earth Ontario, she attended over twenty appearances, and became actively involved with organizations such as the Windsor-Essex Conservation Authority and WaterCan. Her current projects include, her role as President in the Omicron Nu Chapter of Delta Zeta International Sorority, and her involvement in a multitude of campus organizations.

This weekend I will be saying goodbye to my first title ever, Miss Teen Saskatchewan and my successor will be crowned. But I’m currently on my way to Florida, so, same as I did for the other provinces, I have created a video with little bits of advice before the girls head into the competition. The other finalists from Saskatchewan will be there so they will be able to tell you their advice in person! You girls are in good hands! Best of Luck Sasquatches!

Before the 2014 British Columbia provincial competition this past weekend, some of the 2013 national finalists took the time to give their advice and share their experiences with the new hopefuls! Here’s the video!

I spent the past weekend in Toronto. I spent the first couple of days catching up with some friends and taking my shopping spree at the Eaton Centre! It was a lot of fun!
But the real purpose of me coming to Toronto was to help out and host the Miss Teenage Ontario pageant. I was so great to hang out with some of my friends from nationals especially since at nationals I didn’t really get the chance to hang out with them. We had so much fun goofing around and reminiscing about our time at Nationals and Provincials. It was a blast! I’m really going to miss them all!

This was my first time hosting and attempting to give guidance at a pageant. Hosting the first half I found difficult, especially everyone’s names! The second half I found myself way more at ease. As for the actual advice part, once the other girls got there, I was so excited to see them, I kind of let like a scatter brain when I was trying to explain things! I hope I got my point across!

The show it’s self went awesome! The girls did wonderful! From 37 provincial finalists to now 20 national finalists. They all did wonderful! I’m not sure how they could have picked! By the end of the night, we crowned a new Miss Teenage Ontario. 17 year old, Francesca McFadden.

Congratulations to all those who competed and I can’t wait to see all the finalists at Nationals!

As the new year is upon us, the 2013 finalists will give up their titles and crown the 2014 finalists. I have received a lot of questions as I would imagine a lot of other finalists did as well regarding what to expect in the up coming pageants. So I figured who better to tell you what to expect than the finalists themselves, also giving them an opportunity to say farewell and pass on what they have learned over their reigning year.

So to those competing in the Miss Teen Ontario-World this upcoming weekend, from the girls who have been there, their advice to you

On one of the coldest days in Saskatoon yet, we had the Santa Clause Parade to kick off the the holiday season.

I was blessed that SMP Saskatoon was able to provide me with a brand new 2014 Silverado to ride in for the event! Also, that Living Skies Limousine was able to provide me with a driver for the parade as well.

My mom froze her fingers making the truck look like Christmas and attached my magnetic signs from Wolfecroft Signs that I have used on multiple occasions now! I also some how managed win the runner up for Novelty!

It was so much fun seeing everyone’s frozen faces! It was very strange to wish people Merry Christmas in the middle of November but I think “Merry Christmas Princess” has to be my new favourite saying! I was excited that I didn’t lose feeling in my fingers and toes until the last block too!

I was given an emergency phone call a couple days before the event. I was invited to an event in small town Biggar, SK to help celebrate Canada Music Week!

They had all sorts of different local talent performing that night! From dancers to singers to full bands with a complete range of ages!

I came out and told them about my journey and what I’m doing now. Then joined by Mark, the organizer, we unveiled a concert poster for yet another local concert with proceeds going towards a digital projector for the town so they can show movies!

Afterwards, I took pictures with what seemed like every child in the theatre! It was so much fun! The two that made me laugh the most were these two boys that had to be about 13. They got me to sign their arms and their iPods. It was kind of cute! I felt like a real celebrity!

I started off the day by freezing my bum off collecting donations outside from people passing by on their lunch break while Global Regina handed out free Tim’s coffee!

Next, I tried my hand at answering phones! I was amazed at how generous people were. The women I got work with too were all so sweet!

Finally I made my rounds with interviews with the radio station partners, My 92.1, 620 CKRM and 104.9 The Wolf. It was kind of difficult to be put on the spot like that for back to back to back! But hopefully I got my point across that this was an awesome cause to donate to because the kid really need a place of their own to heal in!

Overall it was a fun day and I can’t wait for my next event with them!

This day was so incredible I couldn’t just include it in a monthly wrap up, it needed a blog of its own.

My morning began fairly early trying to get everything ready so I could attend the entire event. After meeting my wrangler, I was escorted upstairs to the talent suite, not before talking to a couple of my old teachers from high school! Once I arrived in the talent suite, I just about stopped in my tracks. Tyler Shaw was there and just walked right up and introduced himself to me. It was kind of crazy! But he was super nice!

From the talent suite I watched about the first hour of the show so I got to see the speech I was most looking forward to Magic Johnson, who was one of the first speakers of the day. He had one of the coolest intro videos I have ever seen! I am a huge NBA fan so it was incredible to see such a legend take the stage and see all the kids just marvel at him. My favourite part was when he got all the kids to get up and dance with him! It was really cool to see him just boogie on stage in a suit. It made him seem like a very genuine person. Unfortunately he wasn’t in the building for very long so I didn’t get to meet him.

Mark and Craig’s first speech which was inspiring as always and they had some incredible facts about how all the kids got there. My favourite fact was that from their “We Create Change” campaign with RBC, there was enough pennies raised that if they were stacked vertically, end to end, they would be able to reach the international space station and back 6 times!! That’s A LOT of pennies!!

Lastly before going to explore backstage I got to hear Tyler Shaw sing. Oh wow, I was so impressed!!! I hear his songs on the radio all the time but they are a hundred times better live! I couldn’t believe it! If he ever comes through Saskatchewan again, I’m definitely going to see him!

After his performance, I then headed to downstairs to the backstage area! That’s where I was approached by Craig himself to take a picture with the president of Potash Corp, who is the major sponsor for We Day Saskatchewan, William Doyle. I then asked for a picture with Craig as well. He is just as kind, enthusiastic and caring as he appears on stage. He is truly an incredible human being! I feel so lucky to have met him! I found it fun though because he greeted me with a hug and said “It’s so good to see you again!” I was totally caught off guard, and quite honestly confused seeing as that was the first time I had the chance to meet him!

After meeting Craig, I had the chance to talk to Spencer West. He was so amazing to talk to, such a kind individual. He genuinely cared about everything I was doing with my title even though it seemed so insignificant to the things he was doing! It was such an incredible experience talking to him!

After talking to Spencer I got the chance to talk to this crazy girl. This is Hannah Alper, she is 10 years old and wise beyond her years. This was her 6th We Day as a speaker. Talking to her is so strange, I had to kneel down to talk to her but she knew more about different issues than I could even imagine! It felt like I was talking to someone who was at least 16 or older. It was crazy!

Next I went to Martin Luthur King III’s dressing room to meet and talk to him. Quite honestly, I don’t remember a lot of what he said because one of the first things he told me was “I believe that no matter what you do, it sounds like you’re going to be successful,” after that my brain just kind of stopped functioning. I honestly still can’t believe he said that I was going to be successful, ME! It was such an incredible honor meeting someone with such a great vision for our world!

I then proceeded to the Green Room for some lunch and ran into some very cool people in there too! I had the chance to meet the Mayor of Saskatoon, Don Atchison. Actually, this was a first for me. I also had the pleasure of running into Bob Marley’s daughter, Donisha, and My name is Kay.

Right before heading to make up I was asked to meet Karl Wolf. That’s right ASKED to go see him! It was kind of crazy! He was really sweet. A very chill guy. He was genuinely interested in me and all my interests. It was really cool to have someone I hear on the radio all the time, interested in my interests!

Next I headed to make up, and then back stage where I got to meet Molly Burke before I introduced her. She was really sweet! To be totally honest though, I didn’t know how to approach her. I mean, I didn’t want to scare her and it was really loud backstage. But I also felt really bad for thinking of her differently because she’s blind. I felt really conflicted! But she was really nice with an incredible story and message. I also got a last minute pep talk from Craig, and I couldn’t have asked for anything more. It was just the motivation I needed to go kill it.

Walking out on that stage, getting introduced by Shawn Desman to my hometown was unforgettable. The cheers still echo in my mind. The first thing I did when I walked on stage was looked up into the crowd to where I would have been standing last We Day in the audience as a crowd pumper. It was amazing to think of how far I had come in such a short amount of time. Once I started to introduce Molly, a hush fell over the audience like I will never forget. It was incredible to think that 15,000 people were listening to me, just my voice, in that moment. It was indescribable. There are not enough adjectives in the dictionary to describe what that moment felt like. Just a dream come true!

After I came off stage I ran into a couple of the boys from Neverest. They were really nice and I wish I had gotten the chance to see them perform! I had the chance to chat with Paul and Spee! I got to catch up with them more at the after party but they are just such genuine guys! I’m pretty sure Spee and I talked about Netflix for about 20 minutes! So cool knowing they are just like normal guys!

The last performance of the show was Shawn Desman and the boys choir of Kenya. I felt like I was 6 years old again dancing to his songs in my bedroom and here I was 13 years later, sitting beside stage to him performing live. I was trying really hard not be completely fan-girling. Definitely one part of the day I’ll never forget!

At the after party, I had the chance to really get to talk to some really cool people such as Me to We, Free The Children, RBC and Potash Corp Representatives as well as say hi to all the stars there as well. I had the chance to talk to Ana Golja, one of the newest stars of Degrassi who was so sweet! I later found out through talking to her that she was only 17! I was fully convinced she was at least 18 or 19! Gorgeous girl with a heart of gold. We got along awesome, it was really a refreshing reminder that even teen celebrities are just normal kids. We still talk today and gush about our Gossip Girl obsession!

One of my favourite people I got to talk to was Aislinn Paul of Degrassi. I had watched her on the commercials for Degrassi for years and it was very, very cool to meet her in person. She gave me some great advice about Me To We trip since she had been to a couple of different Me To We locations herself. One of my favourite things we talked about was actually just parents, school, living at home, where we want to go in life and moving out in the future. Just normal things. We even joked about moving in together. I had so much fun hanging out with her and Ana. It was really surreal to be hanging out and talking to them like I would with my friends from home. I’m hoping in the new year I will be able to meet with them when I’m in Toronto!

Overall it was an unforgettable day. I’m not sure how it could have been any better. It was absolutely incredible. I would love to work for Free The Children or Me To We just so I could experience that energy and sense of family more than just once a year. Even though I won’t be a speaker, I can not wait for next year’s We Day Saskatchewan!

For even more pictures of my time at We Day check out my facebook page:

At the beginning of the month, I was invited to sing the national anthem at the Hilltops football game. But unfortunately I caught a cold at the beginning of the week and although most of my symptoms had subsided, I still had almost no voice! So I still attended the game and lost the last little bit I had cheering on the boys to yet another win. Also since October was breast cancer awareness month, they were selling pink hilltops shirts with proceeds going towards Breast Cancer Research as well as they had a pink Ford Edsel for the occasion.

It was so cool to see all the kids out there cheering on the boys and so excited to go see them after the game. I was very excited to see one of my friends play for the first time since high school. Unfortunately he hurt himself in the first quarter but I got to see his awesome catch that caused the injury.

Going to the game reminded me how much I loved football and the atmosphere and feeling of family that goes with it. Everyone was so welcoming and I had so much fun!

Friends of Vincent Massey Fundraiser

I was asked by a local community school to attend their Halloween fundraiser for their school. There was a barbeque, bouncy house, cotton candy, mascots and a magic show. I had the chance to hang out with DJ Tanner of C95, a radio station in town who was getting his head cut off that night in the show! It was really cool to see all the kids so excited and amazed by all the tricks, I was honestly trying to figure out how they did it too! Over all it was a fairly low key, fun day!

After meeting Tanner the day before at the Vincent Massey Fundraiser, he invited me to help him with a fundraiser the next night. C95 has an annual radio marathon every year to raise money for Breast Cancer Research. It was a lot of fun! Tanner was on air with Tim Stone as well and those guys were hilarious! I got read some of the pledges on air and request throwback Thursday songs! Over the two days they rasied almost $300,000 for Breast Cancer research, I am so proud that I got to be a part of such an amazing event.

Stand Up For Cancer Fundraiser

I was invited to attend a comedy show in Regina by Haris Khan who has putting on fundraising comedy shows for a year now to raise funds for different causes.

The night held all sorts of different acts and comics but the headliner was Marcus Ryan and I was laughing so hard I think I was just about crying. He was hilarious! I definitely recommend seeing him if he comes through your hometown!

Slowly getting caught up on everything! I’ve been working lots and trying to keep up with school and events, it’s just been a little crazy so please bare with me!

Vancouver Fashion Week

This was my biggest event yet in more ways than one. It was my first out of province appearance and my first big modelling job also outside of the city.

I arrived into Vancouver on Wednesday and spent the night catching up with my aunt and uncle. On Thursday morning, I arrived at the Chinese Theatre and went straight to fitting for a designer from China, Lili Ming. She showed over 80 hand made pieces with over 20 models. It was incredible! After I was finished I was asked by Papillion, another designer in the show that night to do media with her. It was amazing and really encouraging that she liked me! Walking my first big runway was a little but intimidating because a lot of the girls had done this show before and if not they had done the shows earlier in the week so it was a little bit of a sharp learning curve. But I hope I did well!

Friday was the same sort of drill. A lot of waiting around, fittings, make up and showtime. Friday night, I had the opportunity to model for 2 designers. Both were fashions I felt I could actually wear which was a nice change to the normal idea of high fashion! I modeled for Aloysius Liew and his WHAT IF Collection, as well as the Uwi Twins Fashions. I felt a lot better the second night. I felt a lot more comfortable out on the runway.

Saturday was the same as the other days. Saturday night I only modeled for one designer, Lilla Csefalvay from Hungary. Her designs I felt were a lot like the ones I would have expected to see. Not something you would see someone walking down the street in but definitely acceptable on the runway. For the rest of the night I had the opportunity to go into the VIP lounge as Miss Teenage Canada. I had a lot different interviews and met with different photographers as well.

Overall the experience was an incredible learning opportunity and I felt I learned so much from the other models and their experiences as well as just from being thrown into the atmosphere. The experience gave me a little taste of the big modeling industry! I hope to be back again in the spring! We’ll see what the future holds!

Saskatoon Ex ParadeI was so excited for my first parade as a title holder to be in my hometown. I was also very excited because one of my good friends agreed to drive me in the parade in my dream car which his dad owned, a 66′ Mustang convertible. Everything was perfect until we got about maybe 4 blocks into the parade when smoke started pouring out from under the hood. We had to pull over because the car was over heating! I was lucky because the people with the last float were nice enough to let me stand in the back of the truck pulling their float! I still haven’t gotten used to being called princess. But I love seeing the look on little girls faces, they look as though they had just seen their ideal for the first time ever. There are no words to describe how amazing it feels knowing that was probably one of the high lights of their day. It’s so humbling.

Radisson Centennial Day ParadeThe weekend after I headed to radisson sk for the centennial day parade! No car mishap this time round though thankfully! It was a lot of fun and everyone was so kind and welcoming! Everyone seemed very impressed that Miss Teenage Canada was there especially since Radisson is a fairly small town! To my surprise I ran into one of my friends there, apparently his grandparents live in radisson so It was very cool to meet and take pictures with a lot of his family members. He said he became the favourite nephew that day!

The Canadian Professional Chuckwagons Association FinalsI had agreed to go to this event with my provincial title and was very excited to be joined by my friend Suzanah Fialkow, Miss Teen Alberta World 2013. The finals were taking place in Lloydminster which is right on the border of Alberta and Saskatchewan so I thought it would be fun to have Miss Teen Saskatchewan and Miss Teen Alberta at an event on the border! I was once again very excited to my cousin ride. The races again. I love going to the chuckwagons because everyone is so welcoming and automatically treats you like family as soon as you’re introduced. It was much fun to have Suzy there with me because I hadn’t seen any of the girls since we had all left Toronto and it was her first time ever at the Chuckwagon races so it was cool to kind of show her the ropes of it. We got to help hand out awards and make some draws for some of the prizes as well as enjoy the races! Overall it was a very fun day!

Also congratulations to Vern Nolan for winning the finals and also to his outriders Brett Nolin and Dale Mitsuing.

I was hoping to write a blog at least once a week as I had done prior to the competition, but unfortunately with scheduling, that hasn’t really happened! So I hope to post as much as possible but at the very least include a monthly wrap up.

Official Photo Shoot

The Monday after I was crowned, I headed out to my first official photo shoot as Miss Teenage Canada 2013. It was kind of surreal experience. I had my own personal make-up artist, who also did my hair and all these gowns brought in for me to wear. I felt like I really was a princess!

Once I was ready to go, it was a new experience for me because it was my first time shooting in a studio. I found it a little more difficult than shooting on location because you don’t have much to work with other than yourself and what is on your person.

It was a lot of fun to try on and take photos in these 4 gorgeous gowns! I would have never picked for myself. The first dress was very cute. It was short and yellow with a poofy skirt. The second dress was a red, long, fit and flare. Definitely difficult to walk in! The third dress was a black high low. We got to go outside for this and I felt a lot more in my element there!

While I was shooting outside, I had a phone call from CBC radio and got to do my first official interview! It was very, very strange. I feel as though the interview went well though!

My last dress was spectacular! It was all rhinestones and weighed almost 22lbs! It was stunning though. I would have never thought to try on a dress like that!

Over all it was a very good experience and a good way to start my reign!

Interviews Galore!

When I returned home I had quite a few different media interviews. I was on global tv morning news, I had a phone interview with C95 and I got to go into the studio and had an interview with Magic 98.3 which was so much fun! It was still so weird to put on that massive crown and sparkly sash!

Meadow Lake Chuckwagons

The weekend after I got home, my parents, Grandma and I all drove out to Meadow Lake, Saskatchewan where I had originally planned to appear as Miss Teen Saskatchewan but I was excited to have this be my first appearance as Miss Teen Canada. My cousin is an outrider for the Canadian Professional Chuckwagons Association so I was very excited to him ride. I was introduced amongst the drivers and outriders. I guess none of the other guys believed that we were cousins because when he was introduced, they introduced him as my cousin and all guys looked at him and said “oh, you weren’t kidding about that?!”

Wrap Up

Overall the little I did do in the last bit of July was all very strange because the title hadn’t actually set in yet but a very good way for me to get my feet wet!

I remember waiting to go on stage for the opening number and just thinking in the back of my mind “In a couple of hours, one of us, their life is going to change forever”. At that moment, I did not think it was going to be me!

While they were announcing top 20, I remember my smile was shaking I was so nervous. It was a sigh of relief when my number was called and I was thankful I got to stand beside my best friend up there, exactly as we had hoped. The top 20 competition was swimwear. I felt as though I had slightly stumbled coming down the stairs and just prayed that it wasn’t noticable. My goal was to make it to the top 20 so I was thankful that I made it that far and I knew that no matter what happened when the top 10 was called that making it any farther would just be a blessing.

Top 10 was called and my number was called closer to the end. I couldn’t even tell you who else was in top 10 with me because I was so focused on hearing my number, just in case by some small chance it was called. Once it was, it was another huge sigh of relief and I just remember clapping for the other contestants and trying my best to stay focused and not completely freak out.The top 10 competition was evening gown. I felt very confident in my evening gown run and just hoped it was enough for the top 5. I just kept reminding myself that making it this far was a blessing and making it any farther would just be even more of a blessing.

I was the last number called for top 5. I don’t think I was breathing. I just remember staring at the empty spot on stage hoping that I would get to fill it. Such a surge of emotions came over me after my number was called. I remember walking back stage and just wanting to cry. No reason in particular but just cry. All the other girls were lined up backstage as well waiting to go on for final 5. A lot of them were amazing and telling me such encouraging things. It meant so much that even though they couldn’t be standing up there with me, that they were behind me all the way. The top 5 competition was a question. My question was “What is your future ambition?”. I just answered it as honestly as I could. I know I slightly stumbled over my words but as with every other part of the night, I hoped it was good enough.

The special awards were awarded next. I was very excited for all the winners and felt they were truly deserving of their awards. I ended up with Top Photogenic which I was not expecting at all! I honestly thought I didn’t have a shot at the crown after I won that title. Next they started to announce the placement of the top 5. I was waiting to hear my name for every runner up. Then it was down to final two. I couldn’t think. I didn’t care at that point if I had won or not, I just wanted to know! I remember wanting to kill Luke and Gina who decided to take a selfie I think before actually announcing it. I don’t think I could hear anything they were saying the thoughts in my head were so loud. Then it happened. “1st runner up, Mackenzie White and your new Miss Teenage Canada 2013 is Jillian Martin!” I couldn’t believe it. I did it! That’s all I could think about was that out of 65 girls, I did it I won.

I am so thankful and I feel so blessed. That’s the only way I can describe it.

Thank you to my family and friends for supporting me from the beginning, to the judges for making this a reality, to Michelle and MTC-W Inc for making this all possible, to all those involved over the pageant week for making it a fantastic experience, to all the sponsors who’s generousity did not go unnoticed and to all the other contestants, I love you all, it was an amazing week and I am so glad I got to spend it with you guys. You are all incredible young women who I know will go far in life wherever the road may take you.

This week has been full of amazing activities and experiences for our contestants. Everything from watching MUCH MUSIC live to visiting the Toronto Zoo.

To kick things off, all 75 contestants went to Union Studio to participate in one of the best yoga classes in the city. Everyone was rejuvenated and feeling great after the work out. Not only was this good preparation for the competition, but it gave the contestants time to slow down and do something healthy for their minds and bodies. http://www.unionstudio.ca/

Tuesday afternoon, the contestants went to the Toronto Eaton Centre for an action-packed evening. They started at Garage Clothing with $50 gift cards to buy whatever fashion items their hearts desired. After they had all purchased their favourite clothing items, the contestants were able to go get dinner at the Toronto Eaton Centre’s Urban Eatery. The selection of places to eat is unbelievable. All of the ladies left with full stomachs and full shopping bags.

On Wednesday, our contestants had the privilege of visiting the Giant Pandas at the Toronto Zoo. Of course they all wore their Hi-Tec shoes to walk around! A perfect summer morning spent at one of Toronto’s best spots!

Wednesday night was dinner and a show at the Medieval Times’ Toronto Castle. A great meal with phenomenal entertainment was the perfect way to end the day! http://www.medievaltimes.com/

All of our contestants had the opportunity to go shopping at Costa Blanca located in Yorkdale Shopping Centre. With so many fashionable items, it was hard for each young lady to decide what to buy!

The 75 contestants ran around the store filling their arms with all of their favourite items to try on. Accessories, shoes, dresses, tops, bottoms and all at an affordable price! They each had a $50 gift card to spend and they definitely found some great pieces!

MTC-W kicked off the beginning of an action packed week with a fabulous welcome party hosted by some of the 2013 MTC-W sponsors including Schwarzkopf Professional, ps by prettysweet and Golden Glamour Goddesses. The 75 gorgeous contestants filled the banquet room at the Holiday Inn, wearing their pretty dresses, sashes and fancy shoes. Each one of them showing off their individual style and smiles. The teen girls circled the room in groups visiting each sponsor and collecting generous swag bags filled with amazing gifts.

Schwarzkopf Professional had a table set-up with product while a representative showed all of the ladies how to use the best hair-care products on the market. The ladies received product of their own and will also have their hair done for the final pageant with Schwarzkopf Professional styling products. The pageant winner will receive a gift pack including hair-care products for a year! www.schwarzkopf-professional.ca

Over at the next table, Golden Glamour Goddesses were demonstrating their mobile beauty services which specialize in spray tanning, airbrush makeup, hairstyling and eyelash extensions. Their amazing services will be assisting the contestants to prepare for the pageant. The first, second and third place finalists will also receive an unbelievable prize package. www.GGGoddesses.com

Hi-Tec Canada, set-up an amazing fitting booth where each contestant was personally fit for a pair of shoes of their choice. With four different colours and two different styles to choose from, each contestant left the fitting booth excited and happy with their new shoes. They will be able to see the Toronto sites in some of the most high-quality yet stylish footwear there is. www.hi-tec.com/ca

ps by prettysweet had a lovely booth full of sweets set-up for the contestants. Each contestant could take a cookie and write their name on it with edible markers. Brownies, shortbread and cupcakes were consumed by all!

Free The Children representatives chatted with each contestant about where their fundraising money would be going and the wide range of opportunities for youth to make a difference. www.freethechildren.com

Eighty contestants from across the country will compete for the title of Miss Teenage Canada in Toronto TORONTO, ON – Eighty of Canada’s best and brightest teenaged women will take over Toronto July 13th -20th as they compete for the title of Miss Teenage Canada 2013. The girls-donned in their crowns and sashes-will take in the sights and attractions of the city, engage in fundraising and leadership challenges and prepare for the big competition on Saturday, July 20th at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre at 8:00pm. Now in its sixth year, this years contest is the biggest yet. The girls face rigorous competition as they step up to the stage in hopes of becoming Canada’s next beauty and goodwill ambassadors. Last years Miss Teenage Canada 2012 Winner, Megha Sandhu, is a Health Sciences student at Marianapolis College. She is enthusiastic about the performing arts and has a desire to promote awareness for special needs children in school environments. This past year, she traveled to Guatemala to represent Canada on an international level. She also had the opportunity to speak to over 20,000 youth at ‘We Day’ spreading a positive message. This summer, Megha will travel to Kenya for three weeks on a Me To We service trip where she will continue to spread a message of positivity through building a school and engaging with the local community. The reigning Miss Teen Canada – World, Megha Sandhu of Montreal will crown her successor at The 6th annual Miss Teenage Canada Competition on July 20th 2013 at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre Hosted by Degrassi’s Luke Bilyk “Our motto is to ‘be your own kind of beautiful’ and that is reflected in every sense of the word,” Says Michelle Weswaldi, Director of Miss Teenage Canada. “It takes a lot more than a pretty smile to win the contest. It takes, brains, confidence and leadership.” Weswaldi prides the pageant on its resonating core values like charitable involvement, personal growth and leadership, all mixed with a healthy dose of competition. Recognizing the sometimes-warranted negative stigma attached to pageants, Miss Teenage Canada is committed to setting the highest standards of competition compared to other pageant systems. As a result, Miss Teenage Canada is Canada’s most recognized competition of its kind. “These are not your typical beauty queens, ” says Weswaldi. Ninety-five per cent of the contestants have never entered a pageant before. Miss Teenage Canada 2008 winner, Katie Starke, was a hockey-playing tomboy who had never walked in high heels before entering the competition. With a strong social responsibility component to the contest, each Miss Teenage Canada contestant is required to fundraise individually for the international children’s charity, Free The Children ( www.freethechildren.com) through local sponsors in their communities. Each winner of Miss Teenage Canada has the opportunity to travel to various parts of the world to visit the projects they have supported and to see first-hand the impacts of their fundraising with Free The Children. To date, the Miss Teen Canada- World organization has raised over $190,000 for Free The Children. Providing an opportunity for self-promotion and expression, each contestant has her own blog as a requirement and is judged on her social media activity. Thanks to this strong social media element- including a daily MTC-W blog and video blogs- friends, family and hometown fans can follow the girls’ adventures as they dazzle Toronto from the inside out. THE MAIN EVENT The 6th annual Miss Teenage Canada Competition takes place on July 20th 2013 at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre in Toronto, Ontario Canada at 8:00pm EST. The reigning Miss Teenage Canada 2012 Megha of Montreal will crown her successor. Canada’s top finalist from across the country aged 13-19 come together for a night of Glamour and Excitement. They will compete for over $30,000 in cash and prizes and one will walk away with the Crown. Hosted by Degrassi’s Luke Bilyk, a surprise guest performance and a celebrity-judging panel it promises to be a night to remember. Tickets are $55.00 + HST and can be purchased at http://tickets.ticketwindow.ca/eventperformances.asp?evt=1537 Delegates will also be presenting a cheque for a surprise amount to benefit Free The Children www.freethechildren.com This year the money will go to their new development in Kenya. A free live webcast of the event will be shown online at www.missteenagecanada.com to allow fans and family from a cross the country to tune in. ABOUT Miss Teenage Canada Now in its sixth year, Miss Teenage Canada is the Official Preliminary to 10 international pageants including the Miss Teen Universe Pageant. More than a pageant, the quest of Miss Teenage Canada is to find Canada’s brightest and best teen women from across the country. The competition provides a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to learn, grow, challenge oneself, participate in community-building initiatives and fight for an important cause. It provides a chance to make a meaningful difference in the lives of people both at home and around the world. Miss Teenage Canada is the only truly National competition with finalists representing all 10 provinces across Canada. Delegates are handpicked from thousands of applicants from all across the country. MEDIA CONTACT To request images or interviews with Miss Teenage Canada contestants during contest week or media passes to the July 2th contest at the Queen Elizabeth Theater please contact: Sarah Fukumoto MacIntyre Communications alison.stephens@depictpr.com sarah@macintyrecommunications.com 647-801-3665

We are excited to announce Belinda Kiriakou as one of our Judges and are thrilled to welcome her to the team has our Health and Fitness Advisor!
Belinda is the owner and head trainer of fight2befit, is a fitness and lifestyle coach, a published fitness and bikini model and a health and fitness columnist!
Welcome aboard Belinda!

This past weekend, I was able to travel to Toronto where the new Miss Teen Ontario World 2013 would be crowned along with other finalists. The first day I arrived, the girls were busy rehearsing for the final night show. In fact, it was almost as if I was having a flashback, seeing as, just a few months back, I myself was competing for the Quebec title at my pronvincial pageant. I remember rehearsing for countless hours just as these girls were. In other words, I could certainly relate to both the excitement and anxiety they were experiencing.

Becoming a title holder is certainly no easy task, it involves countles hours spent in rehearsals, trying to perfect your every move. Thank god we have the help of our fabulous choreographers!

What was amazing was that before I even knew it, the night of the final show had arrived and it was time for the girls to prove themselves to the judges. What I love most about this event, is that it really showcases who the girls are and what they stand for. This is why Miss Teen Canada has a platform portion, to see what interests and motivates the girls. I for one was so excited and touched after hearing the girls’ stories back stage. From bullying, environmental awareness, building positive self-image, volunteerism to mentoring-you name it, these girls had it down!

I would like to congratulate 17 year old Bianca Carelli from Totonto for obtaining the title of Miss Teen Ontario! What a sweet and talented girl she is!

Organizing a pageant like Miss Teen Ontario is certainly no easy task. I would like to thank everyone who participated and made this event a success. From make up artists, hair stylists, choreographers, etc this event would of never been possible without you all.

One important thing that I hope comes across is that, regardless of the night’s results, I urge the girls to continue to pursue their goals in life and to never give up on their dreams (regardless of how cliche that may sound). In my eyes, they are all winners and I hope that they will embody the young confident women that I know they are.

Myself and the beautiful Sacha Stewart (Miss Teen Ontario 2012) before the show

From hunger, poverty, racism, to bullying – these were just a few of the issues discussed at Vancouver We Day this past Thursday.

This year’s Vancouver We Day was intense. For those who do not know, We Day is a chance for kids and teens across Canada to get empowered by international stars with a message that young people can change the world. I was certainly moved while listening to speakers like Magic Johnson, Desmond Tutu, Justice Sinclair, Demi Lovato and many more.

This We Day, I had the honor of speaking on stage and sharing a positive message with youth across Canada. After having raised funds for Free the Children this past year, I really began to educate myself on the foundation and about some of their overseas projects. This summer, I will have the opportunity to work on an overseas Me to We project, getting to volunteer abroad and build a school for children who may have never set foot inside a classroom before.

After speaking about my affiliation with Free the Children, I had the honor of introducing the mayor of Vancouver; Gregor Robertson, whom I had the chance to meet backstage before my speech. Not only is he on a mission to end homelessness but he is also trying to make Vancouver the greenest city in the world.

Overall, We Day was a life changing experience that I will never forget. Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think that I could speak in front of 20 000 people! Miss Teen Canada has certainly given me opportunities that I am very grateful for. Had this been me two years ago, I doubt I could of done that I did this past Thursday.

Here is my favourite shot of Megha in which you can see a young person entering into a brand new role in life. She is literally feeling the weight of the crown. Minutes later here at Pure Spirits Oysters Toronto in the Distillery District there were two young girls asking for autographs – they saw the sash and the crown and realized they were in the presence of a celebrity, Its amazing and I was struck by it .. but for Megha, on this day it was a real awakening; she was still getting used to wearing the uniform and being Canada’s foremost teen ambassador

New Miss Teenage Canada 2012 Regional Delegates Squidoo Lens was created to display photos and text and twitter feeds from the annual event. I love the videos here. This lens is actually my pet project and will immortalize the 2012 event in history forevermore

The blogs found fashion and beauty brand sponsors and relevance in different ways…

Each delegate recorded their first posts and these are indexed on the Squidoo lens.

The excitement of the night is preserved forever in the pictures of the day – over sixty girls in dress rehearsal hours before the show at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre in Toronto. Here are the Miss Teens rehearsing the opening number – look carefully and you’ll see some of them don’t have shoes on their feet yet… That’s the kind of excitement we’re talking about.

This video was created by over sixty submissions to the Miss Teen Canada Blog network Video upload page wherein the best were taken and cut into a meaningful assembly that showcases ‘Beauty Superheroes’

We also asked each participant to write about what was happening behind the scenes. We wanted to know who was the camera person and who helped decorate the sets or make the props or provide some logistical support – its in this post that the 64 Miss Teens thanked the Aveda Institute locations in their home provinces for sponsoring the unique video challenge.

Wow. What an amazing experience it has been this summer! A couple of weeks after being crowned Miss Teenage Canada, I was off to Guatemala City to represent Canada on an international basis.

Here, I try my best to summarize the week’s action-packed events with somewhat of an itinerary and pictures we captured throughout the competition. Enjoy!

Day 1: was arrival day for all the delegates from across the world. After eating lunch and dinner (while getting to chat with all the girls), we were surprised with a clown parade where we met with various social workers who spoke to us about the importance of making a difference in the lives of those who are bed ridden in hospitals. There couldn’t of been a better way to start off the competition and not to mention a great ice breaker.

Day 2: was the poolside and beach bikini photo shoot where we shot with a great team of photographers. The photo shoot was followed by dance rehearsals for the final night show. So far there were 35 delegates from around the world who had arrived. I was also trying to practice my Spanish with the Latin American girls at this point. Here are some behind the scenes pictures from the photo shoot.

Day 3: was our video shoot day. Dressed in our national costumes, we shot 30 second video clips where we introduced our country and ourselves. Here are some pictures of my vibrant and lively costume.

Day 4: was the night of talent show and by this time I had been practicing my Spanish because I was to perform my comedy skit in both Spanish and in English. Luckily, my accent was convincible and the audience was amused!

Day 5: was a rather busy day, in that, we started off the day with a visit to parliament. We then had an interview on a local radio station, followed by bowling and then ended the day modelling for a local fashion show.

Day 6: was the day before the final show and we were to be in another fashion show (how cool!). Here are some behind the scenes pictures along with runway pictures:

Day 7: Before I knew it, the night of the final show had arrived. This past week was a long and busy one but overall one of the best experiences of my life. Through traveling and meeting new people, I can personally say that I learnt a lot in a very short amount of time. Regardless of Sunday’s results, I sincerely hope that I represented Canada well and made people proud. Finally, here are some shots from the final night competition

For the first time, Miss Teenage Canada will be broadcast live via live web-streaming on Saturday July 21st beginning at 8:00.
Click here to watch the delegates from across Canada compete in the national finals and see who is crowned Miss Teenage Canada 2012!

The 5th annual Miss Teenage Canada Competition takes place on July 21st 2012 at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre in Toronto, Ontario Canada at 8:00pm EST. Watch an exciting procession of events lead to a grande finale in which the reigning Miss Teenage Canada 2011 Lauren Howe of Toronto will crown her successor.

Canada’s top 64 Regional Finalists from across the country come together for a night of unprecedented glamour and excitement. The delegates will compete for over $30,000 in cash and prizes and one will walk away with The Crown!

Hosted by Degrassi’s Luke Bilyk, and with special performances by Canadian Multi-Platinum Artist, Karl Wolf, the 2012 MTC-W pageant promises to be a night to remember.

From left to right Miss Teenage Canada 2011, Lauren Howe; Canadian Multi-Platinum Artist, Karl Wolf; and Degrassi’s Luke Bilyk

Delegates will also be presenting a cheque for a surprise amount to benefit Free The Children. This year the money will go to their new development in Nicaragua.

For the first time ever, a free live webcast of the event will be shown online at missteenagecanada.com to allow fans and family from across the country to share the excitement and follow along at home!

Lauren Howe, Samantha King and Chelsae Durocher

Now in its fifth year, this years contest is the biggest yet. The girls face rigorous competition as they step up to the stage in hopes of becoming Canada’s next beauty and goodwill ambassador. Click Here to meet the finalists.

The contest is judged based on beauty, poise and leadership qualities. The top 20 girls will be pre-selected and the final vote goes to a pannel of judges.

Lauren is currently in her first year of University pursuing a Biomedical Engineering degree. She graduated from high school with 95% average and is an avid philanthropist. She has traveled to Peru, where she helped re-build a fallen community building as a result of the aftermath of a devastating Earthquake. She has also been to Ghana to help build a high school and teach English to children. This summer, she will be traveling to India for another project with Free The Children.

“Our motto is to ‘be your own kind of beautiful and that is reflected in every sense of the word,” Says Michelle Weswaldi, Director of Miss Teenage Canada. “It takes a lot more than a pretty smile to win the contest. It takes, brains, confidence and leadership.”

Weswaldi prides the pageant on its resonating core values like charitable involvement, personal growth and leadership, all mixed with a healthy dose of competition. Recognizing the sometimes-warranted negative stigma attached to pageants, Miss Teenage Canada is committed to setting the highest standards of competition compared to other pageant systems. As a result, Miss Teenage Canada is Canada’s most recognized competition of its kind.

“These are not your typical beauty queens, ” says Weswaldi. Ninety-five per cent of the contestants have never entered a pageant before. Miss Teenage Canada 2008 winner, Katie Starke, was a hockey-playing tomboy who had never walked in high heels before entering the competition. The Miss Teen Canada Blog Network is another unusual component; 10% of each delegate’s score is derivative of their blogging skills.

With a strong social responsibility component to the contest, each Miss Teenage Canada contestant is required to fundraiser individually for the international children’s charity, Free The Children through local sponsors in their communities. Each winner of Miss Teenage Canada has the opportunity to travel to various parts of the world to visit the projects they have supported and to see first-hand the impacts of their fundraising with Free The Children. To date, the Miss Teen Canada- World organization has raised over $190,000 for Free The Children.

Providing an opportunity for self-promotion and expression, each contestant has her own blog as a requirement and is judged on her social media activity. Thanks to this strong social media element- including a daily MTC-W blog and video blogs- friends, family and hometown fans can follow the girls’ adventures as they dazzle Toronto from the inside out.

2012 Finalist with MTC-W 2012 Judge Stephanie Joanne

ABOUT Miss Teenage Canada Now in its fifth year, Miss Teenage Canada is the Official Preliminary to the Miss Teen World Pageant. The 2012 Search for Miss Teenage Canada is a quest to discover Canada’s brightest and best teen women from across the country. The competition provides a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to learn, grow, challenge oneself, and participate in community-building initiatives in a fight for important causes. It provides a chance to make a meaningful difference in the lives of people both at home and around the world. Miss Teenage Canada is the only truly National competition with finalists representing all 10 provinces across Canada. Delegates are handpicked from thousands of applicants from all across the country.

June 16th 2012 – There’s a lot of blood, sweat and tears that goes in to the Miss Teenage Canada Pageant and today was all about SWEAT. Today the girls filmed a fitness segment at Extreme Fitness (www.extremefitness.ca/) for CityLine . The 66 contestants arrived in colourful gym gear looking well rested, energetic and ready to take on the challenging workout known as the F-31. This intense workout created by celebrity trainer and CityLine fitness personality Stephanie Joanne (http://stephaniejoanne.com/) is a form of maximum interval training incoporating various pylometric moves – all done to catchy music. The girls were jumping around and singing along but needless to say Stephanie Joanne didn’t leave a dry brow in the room.

Following the F-31Workout the ladies toweled off and re-hydrated while Stephanie Joanne took the time to explain the importance of living a healthy and active lifestyle. The girls hard work was then rewarded with a delicious lunch from one of the Miss Teenage Canada Sponsors Fuel Foods (www.fuelfoods.ca) No strangers to pageantry, Fuel Foods owners Nick McNaught and Phil Perez have both competed in Fitness Model competitions. They know firsthand the stress of competition, and the demanding regimen required to be in top shape. Most importantly, they understand that, too often, sacrifices are made in order to look your best. Their company Fuel Foods makes it possible to avoid sacrificing too much. “I want these girls — especially given their age — to understand that healthy eating does not have to be a tall order, or an unpleasant experience,” says McNaught. “It is all about balance. We designed a menu composed of quality ingredients, no sugars or preservatives, low sodium, and best of all, diverse menu options — so you still have choices. We strive to balance nutrition and taste, so eating healthy can taste good. I want the Miss Teenage Canada contestants to know that looking good should still feel good.” Fuel Foods wishes all the Miss Teenage Canada contestants good luck and good health.

Overall the girls had a fun and active morning and were now refueled and ready to start their long day of rehearsals.

Bus loads full of Miss Teen Canada 2012 pageant girls – and last year’s gorgeous winner Lauren Howe – rolled up to the Toronto Eaton Centre for an afternoon of dining and shopping. These girls were ready to shop until they dropped! The Toronto Eaton Centre was so kind to provide each girl with her own $50 gift card that could be used in any of the malls 150+ stores including the food court. Of course , his had the girls smiling from ear to ear. Many of the 66 contestant are from other provinces and small town’s that don’t have large shopping malls, so the opportunity to visit the famous Toronto Eaton Centre was a dream come true.

It’s hard to shop on an empty tummy so it was imperative to get the girls fueled up before the shopping extravaganza. First stop on the adventure was, the Toronto Eaton centre’s Urban Eatery – which has put a fresh new spin of food courts. The Urban Eatery offers twenty-four self-service restaurants with a huge variety of menus — from Thai dishes, Pizza, gourmet burgers, Indian cuisine and vegan meal options. This modern contemporary food court is found on the concourse level closest to the Dundas Subway entrance.

Once their bellies were full it was time shop, but not before a few group photo ops. The young ladies dressed to kill wearing crown and sashes don’t easily go unnoticed. Crowds of people gathered around the contestants hoping to catch a glimpse and/or snap a photo or two. Once the media photos were complete the ladies broke off into groups for a little retail therapy, ducking into store such as Victoria’s Secret, Apple, Aritzia, Roots, Forever 21 and Sephora, to name a few. All these stores under one roof is enough to make any teen girl feel like she’s died and gone to heaven. Needless to say, not a girl left the Eaton Centre without a purchase in hand.

On Tuesday July 17th the girls woke up extra early to join the BT crew for a morning of special talents and name games.After a brief chat with some of the contestants about their special talents. The bubbly Breakfast Television Co- Host Jennifer Valentyne announced that she also had a special talent of her own. She said ” I can remember first names”
Of course, in true BT fashion, quick witted co-host Kevin Frankish challenged Jennifer to memorize all the first names of each of the 64 finalists in just 10 minutes. Valentyne, eagerly accepted the challenge and quickly got down to business asking each girl her name. Her Trick, she says, is to try to associate the name with something or someone familiar.

The show went to a break, and the clock was on .. When the ten minutes were up, the show went live and to much amazement, Jennifer, correctly announced the name of 60 of the 64 finalists. Everyone was thrilled.

On Sunday July 15 all 64 finalists got pampered for their official photo-shoot with immaculate hair thanks to the stylists of Woody Michleb Salons. On behalf of all the MTC-W finalists, we would like to thank Woody and his team for making all the girls look and feel glamorous. We are looking forward to working with you again at the pageant.

To see the final outcome of the photoshoot and the stunning Woody Michleb hairstyles, click HERE

About Woody Michleb Salon: http://www.woodymichleb.com/ Salon Owners Woody and Amy Michleb are a fashion focused duo that have won awards in colour, cutting, styling, design and total look. Woody is the recipient of a lifetime achievement award and Amy was on season 3 of NBC Universals Shear Genius. Their collections have been published in magazines internationally, and their team of 30+ hairstylists are all highly qualified and have a passion for what they do.
Michleb Hair Salon’s have four high end locations across the GTA. Members of Intercoiffure North America, they hold a high standard of employment and education within their salons. With an enviable high end celebrity clientele, the salons, the products and their staff are always in the press, they have affiliations with Global TV, City TV TSN, NBC Universal, So You Think You Can Dance Canada, Flare, Elle and Fashion magazines in Canada, Tiff, Fashion Weeks, Miss Latina Canada, Miss Universe Canada, Amore!, Glamor-Do, Annual Cultural Events and much more.

MTC-W kicked off the beginning of an action packed week with a meet and greet with some of the 2012 MTC-W sponsors including S-Trip, Sallazzo Slippers and Cheeky Monkey Cosmetics. The 66 gorgeous contestants filled the banquet room at the Westin Bristol Hotel, wearing their pretty dresses, sashes and fancy shoes. Each one of them showing off their individual style and smiles. The teen girls circled the room in groups visiting each sponsor and collecting generous swag bags filled with amazing gifts.

One of the Sponsors S-Trip – (http://www.s-trip.com/) seem to have the girls really excited. S-Trip is the largest North American travel company for students. They provide schools with the tools to plan safe supervised trips to over 40 destinations all over the world. This is a great way to give parents a peace of mind to allow their young adults the freedom to travel safely. S-Trip has generously donated 2 free trips – one going to the overall winner of MTC-W 2012 and the other going to the winner of the new title of Miss Social Media Queen.

Over at the next table, all the ladies are lined up to receive the exclusive monogrammed MTC-W 12 slippers provided by Salazzo Slippers (http://www.sallazzo.com/) . These comfy stylish slippers provide the girls with a well-deserved break from their high-heels at the end of a long day of rehearsals and events. As soon as the girls received their new slippers they put them on for some cute footsie photo opps. Miss Teenage Canada ladies aren’t the only ones in on this comfy stylish secret for the soles (of our feet). Famous Canadian crooner Michael Buble ordered hundreds of them for his wedding guests. After a night of dancing, I’m sure you can imagine why. Sallazzo slippers come in many different shapes, sizes and styles for everyone and can be worn in gymnastics and dance too.

Cheeky Monkey Cosmetics –

Cheeky Monkey Cosmetics – (http://www.cheekymonkeycosmetics.com/) offers you a fun and “Cheeky” way to share a laugh with your best friend. One couldn’t help but notice the smiles and giggles coming from this sponsors table. With fun names such as “As If”, “Whatever” and “Dancing Queen” these nail polishes, which come in 55 different shades are formaldehyde free. All colours come with their own over-the-top name which are sure to warrant a laugh or two. Each contestant was given her own polish and mini-manicure kit to take home. Be sure to check out the 66 contestants fingers in toes as they grace the stage of the MTC-W pageant wearing Cheeky Monkey Cosmetics.

In the past few months I have had the privilege to speak to students at a few schools. I did not want to simply walk into a school and start talking about something either boring or that they have already heard before, so I looked to speak to the students about a “hot topic” that was currently an issue at their school. On that note, the main topics focused on were Bullying as well as Self Esteem in young women.

Bullying is clearly a major issue today. For years it has affected a wide age range of individuals and many organizations are dedicated to putting a stop to it. It can come in many different forms, from Cyber-bullying to the classic “Mean Girls” perception to physical abuse. Sometimes, bullying isn’t very obvious either. For example, when girl’s pick on one another, they exploit the weakness’ and insecurities of one another and just by

The classic view of a bullying in a girl’s world

using words, use it to hurt the feelings of another one. The reality is, every single person is involved in bullying one way or another. To show this to a group, I asked the following:

“Keeping your eyes closed throughout this entire exercise, raise your hand if you have ever been bullied. Raise your hand if you have ever been a bully. Now, raise your hand if you have ever been a bystander. If you have raised your hand at any of those three things, please raise your hand again, keep it in the air and open your eyes”.

By that point, nearly every single person’s hand in the room has ben raised.

Just like many others, I was bullied in middle school. The first time I was bullied, I could never find the reason as to why. I used to be a really shy and introverted student. I was scared to talk to many people on my own, let alone stand up for myself when my bullies picked on me or decided to take my food at lunch and throw it in the garbage simply because they believed it smelled funny (it was just fish!). Eventually, I told my mom and ran away from my problem. I transferred to a different school thinking I would never have to deal with it again. At my new school, I was having an amazing time with all of my brand new friends. About a year and a half later, something changed. It started with my friends ignoring me, then I began receiving mean messaged over ‘MSN messenger’ (yes, the dinosaur age of Facebook Chat). Some of which read “no one likes you anywhere”, “you are so ugly” and “why don’t you do the world a favor and just [leave] already”. You get the hint…

It hurt SO much, especially when I was sick enough to miss the final three weeks of school. All of those painful that I thought I had escaped came rushing back into my life and it felt as though there nothing could be done to stop it. I will not get into the details of every time

Speaking at Kensal Park Secondary School in London

someone said something mean, but the point is how I felt. I felt alone, hurt, betrayed and unimportant. At the time, I thought that no one else could understand how I felt because they were all so happy. This became a very difficult point in my life.

Ironically, that summer I had tried to call one of my friends but I called one of the bullies by accident because I previously had her phone number memorized. There was so answer, so I left a voicemail that went something like this: “Hey girl! Are we on for lunch this weekend? Talk to you soon!”. A few hours later, she called me back agreeing to meet for lunch. This mistake was the best thing that could have happened. We talked for a while and I found out something very interesting. People starting being mean to me because they had heard a rumor that I had saying bad things about them (follow that? Haha). Essentially, all it took was one girl to spread these rumors among my friends to ruin my relationship with them, and the rest you can guess wasn’t very fun. Rather than finding me and asking for the truth, my friends had believed it. There were also only a few people who had accessed many different people’s accounts to send me the hurtful messages, which I clearly never knew at the time. It was a tough time, and I know many people have been through much worse, but I have to thank my family and a few really good friends that I trust for helping me get through such a tough time. If it weren’t for them, I know that I would not be where I am today.

The biggest piece of advice that I would love for anyone reading this to take away would be that communication is key! If you hear a rumor, that doesn’t mean that it is necessarily true,. Ask the source of the rumor directly if it is true. This can avoid a very large, disastrous mess! If it is about yourself and it doesn’t bother you much, let it roll off your shoulders because you will never be able to impress every single person on the planet (that would probably get a little boring after a while). If you hear a rumor being spread about someone else that you know is not true, speak up and extinguish the flame right then and there. Lastly, don’t be afraid to talk to your teachers. They don’t just eat, live and breathe at school to give you homework, they genuinely care about you and your wellbeing!

To those of you currently being bullied, I promise you, it does get better!!! Frankly, I thank the people who bullied me because it made me into the stronger, more outgoing person that I am today. Without them, I never would have had the confidence to win this pageant.

There is a fabulous anti-bullying campaign called the “I Will Make It Better” Project run by an even more amazing boy, and my friend, Jacques St. Pierre. His passion to stop bullying even caught the attention of Lady Gaga (check it out below)!!

Eighty contestants from across the country will compete for the title of Miss Teenage Canada in Toronto

TORONTO, ON - Eighty of Canada’s best and brightest teenaged women will take over Toronto July 14th -21st as they compete for the title of Miss Teenage Canada 2012. The girls-donned in their crowns and sashes-will take in the sights and attractions of the city, engage in fundraising and leadership challenges and prepare for the big competition on Saturday, July 21th at the Queen Elizabeth Theater at 8:00pm.

Now in its fifth year, this years contest is the biggest yet. The girls face rigorous competition as they step up to the stage in hopes of becoming Canada’s next beauty and goodwill ambassador. Click Here to meet the finalists.

Last years Miss Teenage Canada 2011 Winner, Toronto native, Lauren Howe is currently in her first year of University pursuing a Biomedical Engineering degree. She graduated from high school with 95% average and is an avid philanthropist. She has traveled to Peru, where she helped re-build a fallen community building as a result of the aftermath of a devastating Earthquake. She has also been to Ghana to help build a high school and teach English to children. This summer, she will be traveling to India for another project with Free The Children.

“Our motto is to ‘be your own kind of beautiful’ and that is reflected in every sense of the word,” Says Michelle Weswaldi, Director of Miss Teenage Canada. “It takes a lot more than a pretty smile to win the contest. It takes, brains, confidence and leadership.”

Weswaldi prides the pageant on its resonating core values like charitable involvement, personal growth and leadership, all mixed with a healthy dose of competition. Recognizing the sometimes-warranted negative stigma attached to pageants, Miss Teenage Canada is committed to setting the highest standards of competition compared to other pageant systems. As a result, Miss Teenage Canada is Canada’s most recognized competition of its kind.

“These are not your typical beauty queens, ” says Weswaldi. Ninety-five per cent of the contestants have never entered a pageant before. Miss Teenage Canada 2008 winner, Katie Starke, was a hockey-playing tomboy who had never walked in high heels before entering the competition.

With a strong social responsibility component to the contest, each Miss Teenage Canada contestant is required to fundraise individually for the international children’s charity, Free The Children ( www.freethechildren.com) through local sponsors in their communities. Each winner of Miss Teenage Canada has the opportunity to travel to various parts of the world to visit the projects they have supported and to see first-hand the impacts of their fundraising with Free The Children. To date, the Miss Teen Canada- World organization has raised over $190,000 for Free The Children.

Providing an opportunity for self-promotion and expression, each contestant has her own blog as a requirement and is judged on her social media activity. Thanks to this strong social media element- including a daily MTC-W blog and video blogs- friends, family and hometown fans can follow the girls’ adventures as they dazzle Toronto from the inside out.

The 5th annual Miss Teenage Canada Competition takes place on July 21st 2012 at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre in Toronto, Ontario Canada at 8:00pm EST. The reigning Miss Teenage Canada 2011 Lauren Howe of Toronto will crown her successor. Canada’s top finalist from across the country aged 13-19 come together for a night of Glamour and Excitement. They will compete for over $30,000 in cash and prizes and one will walk away with the Crown. Hosted by Degrassi’s Luke Bilyk, a surprise guest performance and a celebrity-judging panel it promises to be a night to remember.

Now in its fifth year, Miss Teenage Canada is the Official Preliminary to 10 international pageants including the Miss Teen Universe Pageant. More than a pageant, the quest of Miss Teenage Canada is to find Canada’s brightest and best teen women from across the country. The competition provides a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to learn, grow, challenge oneself, participate in community-building initiatives and fight for an important cause. It provides a chance to make a meaningful difference in the lives of people both at home and around the world. Miss Teenage Canada is the only truly National competition with finalists representing all 10 provinces across Canada. Delegates are handpicked from thousands of applicants from all across the country.

MEDIA CONTACT

To request images or interviews with Miss Teenage Canada contestants during contest week or media passes to the July 21st contest at the Queen Elizabeth Theater please contact:

It all began about one year ago, each of the delegates in the Miss Teen Canada –World 2011 pageant where given 6 weeks to fundraise for the focus organization, Free the Children. After the 6 weeks concluded and the pageant itself came to an end, I had been awarded the ‘Top Fundraiser’ title. Over the course of 6 weeks, I had raised $16,626.75. With this award the delegate is given the opportunity to travel with Free the Children and Me to We to their location of choice. This was an extremely exciting moment and I knew that sometime in the future I would get to take part in one of the Me to We volunteer trips. Growing up I had never thought too much about a service or mission trip, but I always knew that I wanted to help make a difference in someone’s life or, if I’m lucky, make a difference in the world…and so began the adventure of a lifetime!

From May 13th-June 2nd 2012, I had the extraordinary privilege to travel across the world to Kenya, Africa. In my group there were 23 participants, 3 facilitators and 2 very special Maasai Warriors; Stephen and Peter. As we boarded the plane in Montreal and the plane took off I couldn’t believe it! First of all it was my very first plane ride and second we were on route to KENYA!!

Once we arrived in Nairobi we made our way to the Maasai Mara Region where we would be staying for the next 3 weeks. The camp staff, facilitators and our Maasai Warriors made our stay the most incredible time! Together we all grew as a family and will forever have the memories of Kenya! Never in my life have I ever seen so many happy, thankful people. The people of the Maasai Mara truly have something special about them, and that is their infinite smiling. Whether we were driving by, playing at the school, or visiting with the Mamas their smiles would send out happiness and joy to us all. It was truly a powerful thing to see how a smile could impact us.

“Often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around.” – Lou Buscaglia

ROBIN WISZOWATY:

“Growing up in suburban Illinois, Robin Wiszowaty leads a typical middle-class American life. Hers is a world of gleaming shopping malls, congested freeways and neighbourhood gossip. But from an early age, she has longed to break free of this existence. A yearning burns inside her, wishing for something deeper. What it is, she doesn’t quite know. Yet she knows in her heart there simply has to be more. Robin seizes an opportunity to travel to rural Kenya and join an impoverished Maasai community. Suddenly her days are spent hauling water, evading giraffes and living in a tiny hut made of cow dung with her adoptive family. She is forced to face issues she’d never considered: extreme poverty, drought, female circumcision, corruption- and discovering love in the most unexpected places. In the open wilds of the dusty savannah, this Maasai life is one she could never have imagined.” (Robin Wiszowaty, My Maasai Life). Robin shared with us her story and now having lived in the Mara for 10 years she fully understands and has lived the Maasai life. Seeing the courage, compassion and charisma that she brings with her and that flows from her, as she speaks, she inspires me. She went on to say that “Opportunity isn’t a chance; it’s a choice”. This quote stuck with me as many of us are very fortunate with our life styles here in North America and we have the opportunity to reach out, to step forward and to make a difference. Sometimes having the opportunity isn’t quite enough though. We have to make the choice, ignite the spark inside of us, take the opportunity and roll with it. Robin went on to show us the beautiful bracelet she designed. This bracelet has the Swahili phrase ‘Tuko Pamoja’ written on it. This means ‘we are together’, this powerful phrase creates a support system. Everyone in my group supported Free the Children by buying one of these bracelets. Now no matter where we go or what we are doing, whenever we look at our bracelets we know ‘we are together’, we support one another and we are working together with Robin to be the change.

SAFARI:

The early morning wake up call brought a full day devoted to the safari! From the beautiful, majestic giraffes to the countless gazelles and the eye catching zebras. From the speedy cheetah to the family of lions, the huge hippos to the wandering wildebeests, the safari was truly a magical day! Seeing all of these animals and more was such a delight! Exploring the Ol Choro Oiroua Conservatory and searching for animals made the day full of adventure, not knowing what animal, if any, we would see next! Our group was very fortunate as we got to see many different animals and in some cases we were very close to the animals and were able to see the details of them. This experience was thrilling and the entire group enjoyed the day! My favourite animal of the day was the giraffe. Watching them stroll over and eat from the acacia trees was incredible. Their long necks and beautiful bodies made the giraffes seem so enchanted and mystical.

BUILD SITE:

We visited the build site almost everyday; we were building a teacher accommodation. The stage of the building we were in charge of working on was the foundation. This stage meant that we would be pick-axing and shoveling to create trenches, in order for the rebar and concrete to be poured into the trenches. With each pick-axe and each shovel the group of us all worked together and put our all into the task. It was remarkable looking around seeing everyone hard at work and knowing the difference we are making. While we worked we were able to see a finished version of a teachers accommodation behind our build site. Seeing this helped to motivate us in times of exhaustion and heat. The encouraging words of fellow volunteers, inspired us to keep on working and to complete our stage of the building process.

FREE THE CHILDREN PILLARS:

Free the Children follow an Adopt a Village system. This system is made up of four pillars; the health pillar, alternative income pillar, water pillar and education pillar. Each of these play a crucial role in helping to ensure that the initiatives that Free the Children stand for and bring into the communities are sustainable. Sustainability is essential for creating and maintaining the beneficial pillars in the community. Free the Children believe in ‘a hand up, not a hand out’ and they do this by empowering the people of the communities that they work in and are partnered with. This partnership develops a strong bond between the workers, volunteers and people of the community. Without this bond that Free the Children has established, helping to create a sustainable community would be much more difficult. With everyone working together equally, the Adopt a Village system is more easily able to flourish and empower the community members.

HEALTH PILLAR:

The Baracka Health Centre is made up of friendly doctors, pharmacists and a lab technician. The Health Centre follows western medical standards. When patients visit the health centre they are seen and treated according to the severity of the sickness or injury. They are first brought into the consultation room, then the examination room, followed by the surgery room (if need be). There is also a recovery room that can hold two patients at a time. Patients are never kept over night, as there isn’t enough space or staff to make this option a reality at this time. There is also a laboratory; this is where patients are tested for different diseases and where the medicine is kept. Each patient that visits the health centre is required to pay a commitment fee and if they need medication, a prescription fee as well. The last rooms are for the pregnant Mamas. These rooms are used for checkups during the pregnancy and for checkups once the child is born. The health centre promotes a healthy home and lifestyle so there is ‘Elle’s Garden’, which is a garden used to show the patients and other community members how to plant and maintain healthy crops and what crops are best to eat. The medication and prescriptions used are all donated to the health centre. Thanks to these donations many of the people of the community can feel better and stay healthy.

ALTERNATIVE INCOME PILLAR:

The alternative income in the Enelerai community is beading. The Mamas of the community are supplied with beads by Free the Children and with these beads they make jewelry, belts, key chains and many other things. This opportunity gives the Mamas the chance to help support their families. Mama Laya and Mama Gladys came to teach us how to bead. We beaded key chains – well it was more of an attempt to bead the key chains but it was a lot of fun! The Mamas were so helpful in sharing their expertise with us and we all enjoyed the experience as we tried to complete our task. We all worked on the key chains for about 2 hours and completed a maximum of 7 rows and the Mamas said that they could complete an entire side of a key chain in 20 minutes. These Mamas are talented, happy and proud of their accomplishments with the alternative income system that they are involved in. After having the chance to try the beading I was completely in awe of the skill that these Mamas have. They work hard with love and hope, and that is something that I took away from the beading experience. When you put your heart into a task no matter what, it can be seen in the result.

WATER PILLAR:

We had the opportunity to help the Mamas in the Enelerai Community to collect water for their families. The Mamas usually walk approximately 3-6 km to get water and they have to do this multiple times a day. The Mamas we collected water for were Mama Judy and Mama Melina. Together we collected the 20-liter jerry cans and made our way to the water source. As we were walking there I wasn’t sure what to expect, but soon enough I saw. The water that we were collecting was brown in colour and was flowing down a river. This water was not clean, but would be used for laundry, bathing, cleaning, and cooking. Once the jerry cans were filled we began the walk back to the Mamas house in partners. The jerry can was carried by putting the rope attached to the can across your forehead and then resting the can on your back and holding on to the rope on either side of your head. This was something I could never have imagined or completely understood until taking part in this important daily activity that the Mamas do. We only had to walk 1 km and were able to switch back and forth between partners, but it didn’t make the task much easier. The pain and exhaustion felt throughout this walk I will never forget. We take water and our easy access to it for granted everyday. Being home from the Mara whenever I am using water I flashback to that day and all of the emotions and feelings flood my mind. Thanks to Free the Children there is also access to clean water. At the gate of Enelerai Primary School, Kissaruni Girls Secondary School and Emori Joi Primary School there is a well that people can collect the clean water from.

EDUCATION PILLAR:

Visiting Emori Joi Primary School was truly inspirational. The entire school community welcomed us with open arms and they were all so full of energy and life. From the soccer games to the hand games, we played, talked and learned about one another the entire time. Two 12-year-old girls became very special to me. Their names are Ruth and Facity. They told me about their passion for learning and their love for school. As well as how they aspire to be a teacher and a nurse. These girls and their enthusiasm sparked the motivation inside of me. Through this experience I learned WHY I was there. I was there to give a helping hand, to form new friendships, but most of all I was there to learn from the remarkable people I am so blessed to have met. Ruth and Facity, though only 12-years-old, will always hold a spot in my heart. Knowing their dreams and hopes for the future help me to understand and appreciate everything that I have and everything I can do as well.

I’d like to leave you with this thought. I feel as though it is important that we don’t feel guilty that we have access to clean water, nourishing food, easily accessible health care and a thriving education system. But acknowledge our duty to take this as an opportunity to help make a difference both locally and globally, to make change; to be the change.

Thank you to the Miss Teen Ontario East and the Miss Teenage Canada Pageant Committee’s, especially Michelle, for making this dream become a reality!

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” – Margaret Mead

June has already come so quickly! I am still wanting to write “2011” half the time. This just means that it is that much closer to crowning the next Miss Teenage Canada 2012!

I can’t even believe that a year has nearly passed. More importantly I want to wish all of the national finalists good luck in preparing for the pageant. There is less than two months to go and I know that you are all working so hard hitting the books, getting your gym on, volunteering and lending a helping hand in your communities. It’s a lot but I know you intelligent ladies can handle it.

The entire experience, from fundraising and volunteering to meeting countless new people, will be one that you will treasure for a very long time. You have all been given a title that can make a true impact in your community – however to those of you who do not hold a title, that doesn’t mean that you too cannot make a difference.

Delegates, you have all met other incredible girls in your provinces and get ready to meet even more from across the country. I can personally vouch that some of those girls will become your closest friends once the pageant is over.

Simply cherish each moment that passes by because you never know who you might be able to help or who might help you.

Through my incredible opportunity to speak at Free The Children’s We Day, I had the privilege to meet the very inspiring Spencer West – one of the many remarkable individuals at the event.

Spencer West in the yellow headband and the big smile

Spencer is not only a humbled, kind and hilarious guy, but he also has an amazing life story that he has shared with thousands of people across the world. Since I cannot do him justice, I encourage you to check out him telling his own story; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yjy2YNADXR4

Spencer will be climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro this June to raise funds for clean water projects in Kenya. Despite the difficult journey on it’s own, Spencer takes this challenge to a whole new level. You see, as a child, Spencer lost both his legs and was told he would never walk again. This certainly didn’t stop him from being a cheerleader in high school, pursuing other passions in his life and now tackling the largest mountain in Africa. The campaign is called “Redefine Possible”. His journey will begin on June 12, 2012 and it will be documented on that very website. The goal is to raise $750,000 to provide these clean water sustainable sources to approximately 12,500 people in Kenyan communities. If you choose to get involved, it is $10 to sponsor a step.

Congratulations to all the girls so far who have made it to the National pageant in July!! All you who competed are beautiful, amazing ladies who have the potential to do amazing things in life.

To the new title holders, you all have a very exciting year ahead and please do not let this year go to waste. Contrary to the stereotype, pageants not just about beauty and charisma, but they are also a way for girls to become deeply involved in their communities. Do you remember the way that you may have looked up to your mentor or parent or sibling when you were a child? Or even have you seen a child copying the motions or words of these people? Children always have someone to look up to and now you are all role models.

Part of being a titleholder is choosing a platform. This can be a cause, issue or specific organization that you want to help. Yes, this can be a very difficult overwhelming process to choose one, but if you can find something you are passionate about, you will be all the more willing to want to do as much as you can to help. Remember, your platform is something that is important to you, not something that will sound good to everyone else.

Personally, I chose my platform because I am extremely bothered by the relationship between the amount of food waste in our city and the number of individuals who go hungry every day. I wanted to be involved with variety of organizations centered around helping the hungry. This included those who take perfectly good food (that would typically go to waste) and providing it to those in need in local communities. Obviously hunger and poverty is a complex global issue and that is exactly why it hasn’t been solved yet. I will go into more detail about my platform in a separate blog post but the point is, I chose something I was passionate about even if that wasn’t traditional.

Lastly, try to volunteer or help out at various events for different organizations – there is so much to learn from every experience!

I’ve never before been to the east coast of Canada until this past weekend when I was able to travel to Newfoundland and Labrador for their Miss Teen pageant. I must say, what an incredible first impression from the spectacular scenery to the warm, welcoming people.

The first day I arrived, I was greeted in the most welcoming tradition by being

Becoming an Honorary Newfoundlander includes kissing this handsome fish smack on the lips.

“Screeched in”. For those of you who don’t know what this means, it is a way to become an “Honorary Newfoundlander” for all those who were not born there. The ceremony includes repeating Newfoundland slang and kissing a fish on the lips.

Please do me a favor and google images of what a thawed out fish looks like in the face and try to imagine what it would be like to lock lips with that.

That night, all the girls went bowling followed by a trip to the famous Signal Hill. The view there was breathtaking, one side facing St. John and the other out to the Atlantic Ocean. I suppose I have always been a water type of girl so I simply loved the view looking out at the coast.

What I love most about this pageant is how different it is and how they look at so many qualities that the contestants hold. This includes the girls having to write an academic test, take a fitness test and compete in casual wear competition in place of swimsuit. My personal favorite is the fitness test because this is such a good way to determine how healthy one’s lifestyle is. So many of the girls are also incredibly talented from playing piano to singing which were all performed in a seperate Talent Competition.

There were so many people who took part in the Miss Teen Newfoundland and Labrador pageant. I want to say thank you to everyone who made this past weekend incredible – thank you so much to Isabelle and Chris Fry, everyone on the MTNL committee, all of the sponsors and to the amazing girls who were competing for the title. Without all of you, my experience would have been nowhere near as amazing. I hope to see you all in the near future!

Congratulations once again to all the winners and to the new Miss Teen Newfoundland and Labrador – Emily Bland of Grand-Windsor Falls! This talented lady also won the Miss Teen Academic and Talent awards that night!

On Sunday Jan 28th, 2012, forty two young women aged 14-18 gathered together from all across southern Ontario in a hotel ballroom twenty minutes north of Toronto to begin an exciting quest. On that day of discovery, the 2012 Search for Miss Teen Canada – World, Ontario Regional event was held at the Sheraton Center Hotel in Richmond Hill.

Marisa Market, Danielle Cocchetto, Miranda Kennedy and Frances Moreth

The day dawned cold and wet and grew steadily worse all afternoon; the evening performance coincided with the first heavy snowfall of the year, but nobody was going to let a little snow get in the way—as they say, the show must go on.

Rehearsals just hours before the big show...

When the SMOJOE crew arrived, the snow was just starting to fall. By time my assistant Lauren and I parked the car under the hotel (free parking!) at 4pm, it was a full scale blizzard outside with whiteout conditions on all roads leading to the hotel. We stepped out of the storm and into the warm light of golden metal wall sconces on cream coloured marble walls over plush red carpets. In the Sheraton’s elegant conference hall mezzanine there were several teens, their hair all done up in curls, wearing evening gowns and high heels… We knew we were in the right place. Our appearance preceded the dress rehearsal of the night’s big show by a little under an hour; our pictures show the excitement in the final preparations for the first curtain call.

Brenda Longhurst from the AVEDA Institute works on a contestant backstage at the Ontario Finals

Aveda Canada Hair Crew working to make the lovely even lovelier

just a few of the AVEDA Pro Hair Styling Team

The whole Pro Hair Styling team from the prestigious AVEDA Institute really became part of the experience that afternoon. Scattered about the hallways were pockets of beauty tucked here and there with young ladies hastily trying to get themselves ready for the evening performance. While most of the preparations happened inside the large backstage area behind the main ballroom, some of the girls were spotted nestled into their own private corners and enclaves being primped and styled by tag teams of professional make up and Hair Stylists courtesy of AVEDA Team Canada and the AVEDA Institute here in Toronto.

Sean Cuffie, along with the sound and lighting crew setting up for the big show...

Behind the curtain, I found Shawn Cuffie, the Choreographer (more on Shawn later), the Lighting Director and the Technical Director at work tweaking all elements of the surprisingly complex and carefully composed stage show.James Williams, an acclaimed stage dancer and Shawn Cuffie, the award winning Toronto choreographer have been working tirelessly to work out the stage routines for the Miss Teenage Canada circuit and have been doing so for the last four years.

Backstage at the Ontario Regional competition (the official prelude to 2012 Search for Miss Teen Canada – World), the creative teams are taking a well deserved break after five solid hours of making beautiful hair and skin look like magic.

Makeup Crews at work...

In the center of the room, make-up was studiously being applied by trained professionals, while all around the perimeter were teams of top Canadian Hair Stylists from AVEDA Canada headed up by Creative Director Tristin Morrison and Brenda Longhurst.

The AVEDA hair team was unbelievably talented. The transformations were spectacular and their professional expertise really showed.

The AVEDA hair team was hard at work for more than five hours. The transformations from small town girl next door to beauty pageant queen were stunning. Years of specialized training and experience really pays off. Their professional expertise really stepped up to the plate and it showed in the smiling faces of each and every contestant. The girls looked amazing—the show was spectacular and they really did make dreams come true for so many girls that day.

These events are important. Especially for the contestants and the students as AVEDA provided three or four of their top students an excellent mentorship opportunity to experience the glitz and glam of show business first hand right beside the A Team, long before they would ever get this kind of a chance. Its this kind of hands on mentorship experience that sets the AVEDA Institute apart from other hair schools in Canada, and another great reason to consider a career with AVEDA.

Sophie Roe, recent graduate of the AVEDA Institute in Toronto

Speaking of top Hair Students—presented here is a photo of 22 yr old Sophie Roe, a recent graduate of the Aveda Institute hair school in Toronto. She was one of the lucky recent graduates who was called up and invited to join this elite team of her friends and classmates here at the Ontario regional finals event. She got the call while working at her day job in a cool and trendy hair salon and spa on Queen St E. in downtown Toronto. Thrilled to be invited to participate in this once in a lifetime event, Sophie worked her curling irons to the max preparing three individual teens with three very different looks.

Miss Teen Ontario Finalists from previous years autographing souvenir programs for the fans

At 7pm, with a massive lineup of family, friends, and supporters itching to get in and see their favourite girl up on stage, the doors opened. The adoring fans began streamed in, programs in hand, hearts pounding as they sought the best seats. The lights went dark, the music began, and one by one, 42 girls marched up on stage in all their star studded glory. Awesome.

On Stage at the Ontario regional Finals for the Miss Teenage Canada competition

It was a fantastic event and a fabulous show. Check back here for the full scoop. Until then, a big congratulations must go out to all the contestants and creative teams for giving it everything they had. It was nothing short of spectacular.

While on the topic of Professional Hair Styling…

If you ever considered becoming a professional hairstylist, working at a top Salon in Canada, working on editorial shoots for the world’s biggest fashion magazines or doing hair and makeup for the biggest television shows, commercials and Hollywood movies, you owe it to yourself to check out the AVEDA Institute. It really is the best place to learn and grow and become a hair and beauty pro in Canada. As a matter of fact, there could not be a better time to consider a career in the beauty industry.

This world famous AVEDA Institute is holding a Scholarship Contest from now until March 31st. If you or someone you know was born to style, AVEDA has generously offered up five free scholarships – one to each of five top hair schools in Canada. There is one scholarship available for each of Toronto, Winnipeg, Calgary, Vancouver and Victoria. The Aveda Institute hair school scholarship video contest is a very big deal and winning it could change your life. The finalists will be selected by a panel of celebrity judges in each city. Contestants will be selected based on the compelling nature of their presentation as well as the content and quality of their submitted videos. This challenge ends March 31st, 2012 so get started today.

The Ontario Regional Event produced the following Finalists:

The Overall Winner was Sacha Stewart winning the title of Miss Teen Ontario-World

This Sunday night, Sacha Stewart was crowned the new Miss Teen Ontario-World! All of the delegates were outstanding and congratulations to all the finalists, and once again to Sacha.

To all the finalists, this is going to be an amazing year and it is going to fly by faster than you know it. Enjoy every moment of it. Also, please don’t forget to use your titles to try to make a difference with your platforms – you never know how much of an impact you can make on someone’s life. The sash and crown are just too nice to let them collect dust.

To all the delegates, you are an amazing group of girls to have even gotten that far and I promise you are still going to do amazing things in the future.

Here are the finalists that will be representing Ontario at the National Pageant in July;

One week left until the Ontario pageant ladies! I just thought I would leave you all with a bit of advice for the big weekend – this goes to everyone else in the upcoming provincial pageants as well.

First and foremost, be yourself. All that matters is you go into this pageant rested, relaxed and just being you! Sorry for the ‘cheesiness’ but I cannot emphasize this enough. It is completely understandable that everyone gets nervous (I fully do!) but please do not ever believe that you are not capable of anything. Every person processes qualities that unique and incredible – embrace them and do not try to change them. For example, I have never exactly been a ‘girly-girl’ but I originally went into the Ontario pageant as myself – the girl who loves sports, adores to travel and has no problem getting my hands dirty (or breaking a nail) on service projects. After all, the pageant motto is “Be Your Own Kind of Beautiful” – yours, no one else’s.

Myself competing in the Miss Teen Ontario pageant last year

Secondly, HAVE FUN! You are going to be meeting so many wonderful people and I promise that many of them will end up being your good friends! Try your best to embrace every moment of this experience.

Lastly, be sure to bring some snacks – you want to make sure you keep yourself energized throughout the day.

If any you (contestants or potential contestants) have any questions, do not hesitate to ask. You can either send me a message on Facebook, post on the Miss Teenage Canada page or comment on this post.

Wow! It’s amazing how much your life can change within a year! Personally, I thank god for the year I have had. My family and friends are healthy, I’ve met some amazing people and I could have never imagined myself where I am today.

If there is one thing I would love to see more in the following year between peers and strangers is kindness. Everyone has a story to share, so please take the time to listen. Sometimes, the smallest acts can make the biggest difference in someones life. To make the effort to speak out against bullying, to offer a meal to a homeless person or to lend a helping hand to anyone in need are only a few of the small steps that will help make the world a better place.

I hope that all of you have an amazing, healthy, happy 2012 full of blessings! Embrace every second of it and good luck with your resolutions! xo

I understand that this is long overdue but I thought I would share some photos from the Teen Wold Competition that happened in August 2011 where I was honoured to represent Canada! To read about this fabulous experience click here and I have posted some pictures below. It is an experience that I still treasure to this day and I met some AMAZING girls from across the world <3.

National Costume on Finals Night

Top 10

Top 5!

A little touch of Britney Spears for the Opening Number

I placed 4th runner up and won “Miss Congeniality” ! :) Thank you Ladies who voted for me xo

National Costume

On Stage question/answer — “What age should a person get Facebook?” — VERY interesting question! What are your thoughts?

Many of us are beyond lucky and we don’t even know it. We we’re lucky enough to be born in a land where children can go to school, where children have a voice. Thousands of children around the world have been born into a situation in which they are not given the chance to have a choice of their own. Many are forced to work for less than minimum wage in inhumane, unjust conditions.

In fact…

101 million children worldwide are not receiving an education.

215 million children are forced to work as child laborers and half of these children work in dangerous condition.

One third of children in developing countries is malnourished.

Today, thousands of youth take a stand for vow the silence. Even though this takes place once a year, that doesn’t mean you cannot help with your school. The smallest amount can make the largest difference in someone else’s’ life. To read more about this campaign, visit Free The Children’s webpage here.

Happy Halloween readers! I hope everyone is getting ready for a night full of fun and lots of candy. They say there is an age limit for trick or treating but I strongly disagree! I mean candy is great (in moderation before it hits you’re thighs or teeth obviously) but I am also talking about trick-or-treating for a good cause. Below I’ve mentioned just two ways you can help out on Halloween and have fun!

1. UNICEF

Love these UNICEF boxes — SUCH a good cause!

I remember when I was younger, the whole “UNICEF trick-or-treating” was a really big deal. Basically it is kids going door to door collecting spare change in homes that will be donated to UNICEF – a charity aimed towards helping children world wide. I don’t know if it is still popular, but it always puts a huge smile on my face when I see kids with the little orange boxes in hand. I think that’s a fair reason for anyone of any age to trick-or-treat…

Even Selena Gomez supports UNICEF!

2. Halloween For Hunger & Trick or Eat

Alright so these are my personal favorites. Both of these are aimed towards collecting non-perishable foods on the festive night (even after for a week!) that will be delivered to local food banks and shelters.

Hunger has always been an issue that bothers me and that is why I chose it as my platform. I am not only talking about hunger overseas, but the thousands of people in our very own backyard who can’t afford a meal. According to Food Banks Canada, over 850,000 Canadians used food banks for a meal which is the highest level of food bank use to date!

This is a group of AWESOME kids who participated in Halloween For Hunger!

Both Free the Children and Meal Exchange have amazing programs that can are centralized around this idea of donating the non-perishable foods on Halloween. Free the Children’s Program is amazing and donated more than 600,000 lbs of food last year alone! To check it out, visit the side for Halloweeen For Hunger (click here). Meal Exchange’s program (“Trick or Eat”) doesn’t end until November 7th so check it out and see how you can help!! They accept donations online and you can even win 2 WestJet Tickets to fly anywhere you like in North America or the Caribbean! More information is on their website (http://trickoreat.ca/) and they even accept donations online.

It’s Never Too Late!!

I may be a little late on this post however, I want people to keep in mind that helping out these causes doesn’t necessarily have to be on a holiday. If you raid your kitchen cupboards (with your parents’ approval of course) and check out what you don’t use or what you think a family may need, simply put a bag together of the items you want to donate. To find a local food bank, you can use the website http://foodbankscanada.ca/. Remember, kindness can be at any point in the year and doesn’t always have to have a reason!

Happy (belated) We Day Vancouverites! For those of you who got to attend either a We Day in Toronto or Vancouver I hope you had an amazing time. For those of you that live near any of the upcoming We Day locations, I HIGHLY encourage you to attend if you can.

We Day is essentially when thousands of like-minded youth gather together who are all inspired to make a change in the world. The event itself includes performers and a vast array of incredible speakers. In Toronto, this included Joe Jonas, Nelly Furtado, Danny Glover, Mary Robinson, Nina Dobrev, Rick Hansen, Shawn Desman, Robin Wiszowaty,

With Joe Jonas!

Spencer West and many more! Personally, I can vouch for how their stories made an impact on my opinion. I am not going to go into the details of what they spoke about (surprises are always fun!), but if you get the chance to watch some of the speakers online, it is 100% worth it.

A total of 20,000 people were in the Air Canada Center that day and I cannot even begin to describe the feeling that comes over you as you enter the stadium. The fact that every individual there is dedicated to helping others is a very powerful symbol representing the “generation of change”. You can feel the energy radiating from everyone, from the passion in the eyes to the stories they have to tell.

The Dalai Lama spoke at the Vancouver We Day in 2009!

Living in a developed country, many of us are lucky enough to have everything we need and want at nearly the drop of a dime. Necessities for life (healthcare, water, food, sustainable income) are not hard to come by. It is easy to forget how millions around the world are not given the same opportunities that we are. Many must work many harder, longer hours only to make less than one would here resulting in an extremely high disparity rate. Those who are involved in We Day, all understand injustice in these situations and they want to make a change.

I was actually privileged enough to have spoken as well. I am not the type of person to get star-struck, but I must admit I was at a loss of words when I met Craig Kielburger. I mean this is a person that I had grown up knowing as being an amazing individual who truly has made a difference in so many lives. Throughout this past year as Miss Teen Ontario, I had learned so much more about the amazing things Free The Children does and it is truly incredible.

Speaking at We Day! — definitely one of the best moments of my life

The most important thing I learned that day, is that change really is possible. Free The Children all began when Craig was twelve years old, he read a headline in the newspaper that said “Battled Child Labour, Boy, 12, Murdered”. The more he tried to make a difference, the more people told him that he was “too young” and couldn’t really make

When Craig Kielburger, was only 12 years old, he travelled to Southeast Asia to look into the problems with the child labour trade

much of a difference. Free The Children is now the world’s largest network of children helping children. Clearly, a change was made and since then as over 55 million children have access to education everyday and $15 million US dollars of medical supplies have helped more than half a million people throughout the world. Many more people have benefitted on both a global and local scale but this is the result of passionate, inquisitive minds.

So all in all, if you have some kind of idea about helping others, just do it. Nothing should hold you back and you should always believe in yourself, believe that change is possibly.

Please take 30 seconds (literally!) to like the We Day page on facebook. For every person that simply clicks that button, one dollar will be donated to Free The Children.

For every like on Facebook, $1 will be donated to Free The Children

A huge thank you to Free The Children for this amazing experience and I hope to see any of you if you go to the Winnipeg or Montreal We Day’s!

P.S. I apologize for the time gap between this blog and the actual Toronto We Day date…. University Exams are much harder than I ever thought they would be, but on the bright side I officially finished Midterms!

Danielle Frebrowski also known as Miss Teen Rockyview County World 2010 has just returned form her trip to Ecuador with Free the Children. Danielle’s trip lasted almost three weeks as she travelled to 2 different communities to help build schools and took a tour of the Amazon Rainforest.

Visiting the Community of Shuid:

The first community Danielle visited was Shuid. Here she was given numerous opportunities to help out, as was the case throughout her trip – there is so much work to be done! But in Shuid she was not there just to build a school – at this destination, and all through her journey, she learned about leadership and responsibility.

Danielle was put in charge of delegating tasks and making sure that the team’s spirits were high while working towards their goal. The trip focused on building schools, but Free the Children wanted to focus on life lessons. The group was divided into teams given the challenge to provide for their “family” on a budget. After assessing their responsibilities the team was left with $0.77 to provide a meal for 7. With their money, they were able to buy two bags of rice and 2 stems of broccoli. This was a big wake up call to Danielle as she recalls spending $20.00 daily on a meal for herself. She recognizes the struggle of others and writes, “Overall this was an incredibly impacting opportunity, as I now will be more careful when it comes to not wasting food.”

Danielle at The Community of Chismaute:

The second community Danielle visited was Chismaute. This is where she met a young woman named Maria. This lady was a very special part of her community, because she’s part of a small group of local girls that had the opportunity to get an education and graduate from school. This is very difficult for a woman to do in the community because women do not receive the same rights as men. Talking to Maria and sharing in her experiences was very motivating.

Danielle wrote about Maria and her struggle to become the President of the Community in her blog. Maria won the majority of the votes because people wanted to see her fail. Instead, Maria rose to the challenge and has been very successful with her title.

After meeting Maria, the team went on to building the school in the community.

Danielle was put in charge of drawing the mural in the cafeteria. Danielle decided to draw water bubbles to promote cleanliness and add some color to the room.

Experience at the Amazon Rainforest:

The next day, Danielle along with the team had to be up at 6 AM for their 10 hour drive to the Amazon Rainforest. Danielle wrote about her experience in the Amazon saying “Walking in the jungle was an experience I’ll never forget. The sounds, the smells, the animals we encountered, it was really amazing to have so much biodiversity around us.” While at the Rainforest, she also got to meet an indigenous Medicine man and took part in a cleansing ceremony. After, she learned how to cook and clean fish and bugs. After leaving the Amazon, Danielle and her team headed towards Quito to begin her journey home. You can read more about this trip-of-a-lifetime in Danielle Frebrowski in Ecuador with Free The Children.

It feels so weird to be at university already! It’s like I’m still on vacation, and I am going home next week for another year at high school. It’s even weirder to think that this new city, Montreal, is literally going to be my second home for the next four years (or more!). At least I get a little bit of home by staying in another smaller version of the concrete jungle that is Toronto. I honestly can’t wait to start exploring a little bit more and seeing what I can do to help. Since I grew up in Toronto my whole life, I’ve known about all Toronto charities there to help out with, and I can’t wait to find new places here!

For any of you who are heading off to university very soon (or a boarding school), I have found out many things that you are definitely going to want in your residence/dorm room/apartment. I’m sure I will discover more things as my time goes on here. Anyways here are my top three things;

Good Luck for everyone trying to figure out what to pack for school!

1. A mattress comforter — you feel like you are sleeping on a cloud but it really doesn’t help when you need to get out of bed in the morning

2. Tea, Tea, Tea. I don’t know why, but I just love to have this when I am studying – it helps me relax and focus.

3. Air Freshener – Sometimes the ones you put in your car really do the trick quite nicely! Even if you don’t consider yourself to be a “smelly” person, you will love the smell of your room.

I actually had to move in a week early for the university’s Varsity Field Hockey team try outs, and I am very happy right now that I made the team! To any of you college/university seekers out there looking to play sports at university, be prepared to be dedicated. I mean it.

Not only are try outs going to be a way to whip you into shape after a lazy (yet lovely!) summer, but practices during the season are intense too. Put it this way- for field hockey, they consist of three 6:30 AM practices a week plus fitness training sessions in the gym. Now I am not trying to scare you out of this, at all. It is an amazing opportunity to not only to stay in shape (especially to avoid those freshman 15) but also meet people who share the same interests as you. From what I have heard, your team basically becomes your family – you train together, sweat together, win together.

Anyways, tomorrow morning is our first early morning practice and it is also the first day of school. I have no idea what to think right now. For the first time I am starting to feel very nervous. I mean I have massive lecture halls of about six hundred people! This is for classes such as biology, chemistry, calculus and physics since I am currently in the Biomedical program (still trying to figure out to transfer to engineering but that is a whole other boring story since I just got new advice from a person called an “academic advisor”).

I just got home from my fabulous trip from Houston, Texas for the 2012 Teen World Competition. It was an amazing opportunity and I am so grateful to have met so many girls from around the world. For five days, all the girls built relationships that I hope will last for a very long time. The week consisted of rehearsals which were thankfully indoors since Texas had been experiencing a heat wave while we were down there (near 40 degree Celsius)!

In combination to our rehearsals, we also had such a good time taking our official photos for our national costume, evening gown, interview outfit and swimsuit. Funny story about the swimsuit photo, we had to be ready for the shoot at 6am with hair and makeup done. I had had my hair in rollers for about an hour that morning so my hair was nice and curly and ready to go. The weather in Houston was so humid that by the time I had walked outside, taken the group photo and was ready for the individual photo, my hair had fallen down into loose waves from a Farrah Fawcett type of curl.

The Pageant

Preliminary Dress by Bells and Bows and England’s Costume

The competition worked like this; the 24 girls were judged in Evening Gown, Swimsuit and Interview during the preliminary competition to narrow it down to 10 girls. At finals, the 10 finalists were announced, scores were erased and they re compete in Swimsuit and Evening Gown to determine the top 5. From there, the girls participate in an on-stage question and answer to determine the final winner.

The Results

I am very proud and very thankful to announce that I had placed 4th Runner Up at the pageant andI had also won the Congeniality Award, voted by the participants!

The Top 5 – Brazil, India, USA, Guatemala and Canada

Congratulations to the absolutely stunning, inside and out, Gabriele Marinho from Brazil! Gabby, you are a truly amazing person and I wish you all the best in the future <3.

A Huge Thank You ;

Thank you so much to the entire team at the Teen World Competition that spent so much time and hard work putting it all together. A huge thank you to Michelle, Darlene and Hazel for the tremendous amount of help you have been, especially in regards to preparing for the pageant!Honestly without you guys, none of this would have been possible so once again, THANK YOU!! Thank you also to Bells and Bows for the stunning purple dress you provided with me for the pageant. It was wonderful!

The girls have taken to their blogs now that they have had time to relax and unwind from the competition week. Many are updating us on their lives and more are reminiscing about the experience. The Miss Teenage Canada girls have all gone above and beyond throughout the competition and we are very proud of them all. There can only be one winner, but they are all unique in their own way.

Here are some of the things the young ladies had to say:

Allie Goedecke, Miss Teen Kitchener Waterloo –World, in her post titled, A Big Thank You to All: “I will hold the memories with me for a lifetime as well as the friendships I have built throughout the pageant.”

Alisha Dagenais, Miss Teen British Columbia – World, My Toronto Experience: “My Toronto experience was an unforgettable one, and I am so thankful I was able to be a part of it.”

Vahnessa Espig, Miss Teen Kamloops – World, Toronto: “The experience and knowledge we gained will be something that will be with us forever.”

Anastasia Evans, Miss Teen Coquitlam – World, Miss Teenage Canada 2011: “Being a part of MTCW has truly made me more confident, and given me a whole new look on how one person can make a big difference.”

Sophie Church, Miss Teen Nova Scotia –World, Miss Teenage Canada Pageant: “This experience has been a whole lot of fun and I am so grateful for this opportunity.”

Jessica Lanzellotti, Miss Teen Manitoba _World, Best Week Of My Life : “I am very happy to have had this experience, I have learned so much throughout this trip, from inspiring stories, to lessons learned.”

Thank you ladies, we are very happy that you were provided with nothing less than a great experience. Keep up with the MTCW blog network to find out what the girls are up to.

Well, I suppose this is my very first blog post as the new Miss Teenage Canada! Even though the final show took place on July 16th, it still feels as though it were just yesterday. All of this is just so exciting and I couldn’t be any happier!

The Week Of the Pageant:

I had a fantastic time spending a week with 74 gorgeous, kind and intelligent girls from across the country. Not only did we rehearse together and endure the blisters, but we all had an amazing time throughout Toronto. This goes from our official photo and video shoot that took place after the day we arrived to all the amazing activities in the city.

A little “cheer-off” between the two Hippos

We had the opportunity to go on the Hippo Tours (a bus that can miraculously turn into a boat if it drives into water… no big deal eh?), the CN Tower, The Ballroom (a sports bar, restaurant and bowling – all in one), a 50% off shopping spree at Style Exchange on Queen Street, appearing on BT in the morning, going to the Billy Elliot Musical and meeting the cast (SO cute!) and a Karaoke dinner at The Time Zone, clearly it was a busy week. Thank you so much to the MTC-W team for making it so much fun! ET Canada and CTV’s e-talk had joined up with us at times during the week.

Within the week, the girls were judged at a Preliminary night to determine the top 20 and also a separate contest took place for the Talent award. It was amazing to see the diverse talents that exist within this small group of girls.

I was selected as part of the top six photogenic. This meant I was allowed to participate in a very fun, high-fashion photo-shoot in the Royal York Hotel. Those photos determined the “most-photogenic” award (Congratulations to the gorgeous Sara Winter!).

Final Night:

The final night was a lot of fun and nerve racking at the same time. The entire night just flew by. My heart would race faster than normal every time the girls were narrowed down. All the girls looked beautiful that night, especially in their gorgeous evening wear.

When the moment came:

At first, when Alexandra’s name was called as the first runner-up, all I remember thinking is “congratulations” and I started clapping for her. When my name was announced as the

“The Moment”

new Miss Teenage Canada, I was honestly shocked. It took a couple seconds for me to register that I won or that that very moment was actually happening. I started to tear up, my body began to shake and it wouldn’t stop for a long time that night.

The next year for Miss Teenage Canada:

There are so many things that I am looking forward to over the next year and various things that I would like to accomplish. I am looking forward to letting people know about my platform, helping shine a light on the issue and getting them to realize that the food on their plate can help someone else. I hope to get more food venues involved into the food recovery program as well as continue my participation in food banks and donation centres. Even though this is my platform, there are also so many more issues that I would like to help out with.

I want to help as any people as I can . I want to inspire young girls to feel beautiful and to embrace everything about themselves. I want to help people, no matter what. I am really excited to try the wide range of opportunities that I have never been exposed to before including “We Day” hosted by the non-profit organization, Free The Children.

Thank you again so much to everyone at the Miss Teenage Canada pageant for everything that they have done for all the girls!

On Saturday July 16, 2011, Lauren Howe was crowned Miss Teen Canada 2011. Last year’s winner, Channing Smendziuk, smiled happily at her protege and wished her the best of luck in the upcoming year. Lauren, filled with tears of joy, held on to her crown and gently walked around the stage, thanking and waving at the audience.

The judges made a great decision; everything about Lauren Howe is captivating. She is from Toronto and was representing the province of Ontario. Her beautiful spirit grabs hold and infuses others with energy and charm. When you are around her, you simply can’t help but smile. Her charisma shined on and off stage–during the preliminary show, swimsuit competition and the day of the finals, she was radiant with energy.

Lauren Howe in Rehearsals:

During the week, the girls were put through rehearsals to make sure they knew exactly what to do on stage the day of the show. Lauren was always a leader and helped others with their moves. She was never defensive or aggressive. She understood that for the show to be great, everyone had to be great. I watched her discuss the steps with others, put up her hand to ask questions and ensure that she was in fact, doing the right move. She was very respectful of the other girls, the Chaperons, Choreographers and Directors of the show.

Backstage at the Preliminary show and Swimsuit competition:

Backstage, Lauren was always a help to other contestants. Her number was closer to the end so she always helped other zip their dresses, fix their hair ( if a curl fell out) and find their shoes. One of the biggest hassles throughout this year’s show was missing shoes. The girls, rushing, would take them off and instantly misplace them; Lauren always helped in the search and relayed the message on to others to help.

Lauren Howe’s passion for Travel:

Lauren spoke about her love for traveling and experiencing the different cultures around the world. She spoke about how she wants to interact with people throughout her travels and break down the stereotypes surrounding certain cultures. She has traveled to Peru and Ghana–during her time in Peru, she helped rebuild buildings after the terrible earthquake they encountered. From there she traveled to Ghana, where she helped build schools and teach English. Her experiences helped her understand different cultures and people’s ability to love. On her blog she writes of the genuine gratitude she received from the local people for her help throughout her 3 week visit in Ghana. She will undoubtedly learn and teach others around her a lot during her time with Free The Children.

Throughout the week, we watched Lauren grow and perfect her already great poise. From the moment she walked in the room, she was filled with positive energy and happiness to be part of the show. We are very pleased to announce her as our Miss Teenage Canada 2011.

On Wednesday night the girls were cheering and bursting with energy because they got to meet one of our hosts for the Miss Teenage Canada 2011 show. Luke Bilyk, with his dashing smile, was walking around shaking the young ladies hands. He introduced himself to every girl, making sure he memorized their names and got the pronunciation just right. Continuous cheering and excitement filled our rehearsal room. After he got through the 74 girls, he took some pictures and signed autographs. The other host of the show is Alicia Josipovic; unfortunately she couldn’t make it to the meet and greet with the girls but we are sure they will get along perfectly well on Saturday. Our musical guest for the evening is Danny Fernandes. Here is a little bit of info on them to get you ready for Saturday.

Our day at Stylexchange was fabulous. Being one of the incredible sponsors of Miss Teen Canada, the company reserved their Queen St. location for the 74 contestants of the show to shop and purchase some goodies. Rimmel London beauty artists were there with their own treats for the ladies. They also did the makeup for some of the girls and perfected their glamour for pictures and autographs with fans. The ladies got to see more of Toronto and shopped till they dropped. Channing Smendziuk, Miss Teenage Canada 2010, was with the girls and helped them pick out some of their new outfits.

What does Stylexchange have to offer?

The store was filled with clothing from numerous different brands. Every girl found something to love. Stylexchange offers brands such as Diesel, true religion and much more. The brands at Stylexchange are known for their exclusivity and quality. The cutting edge cult fashion boutique is vastly becoming one of Canada’s widely sought fashion playground. The brand also offers a huge selection of accessories and shoes, from names such as Jeffery Campbell and Micheal Kors. Stylexchange first opened their doors in 2000 L’Acadie Blvd in Montreal. The store featured brands that were difficult to find outside of Europe and gave their clientele the kind of service and quality that was missing in the canadian fashion industry. These names quickly became the companies home known brands. The huge success of the first store lead to immediate expansion. Two more locations were added to the Stylexchange family in Montreal. After three successful years, Stylexchange made its first appearance in Toronto. Not only was the store a success due to its brands, but the design and layout of each location offered a futuristic and exciting décor. The stores really have it all, from colorful fitting rooms to a great display of merchandise.

Miss Teen Canada and Stylexchange:

Stylexchange is a proud sponsor of the Miss Teenage Canada show. They have been very generous and helpful to the ladies. The Miss Teens attended the brand new location on Queen St. and were offered a 50% off discount on clothing merchandise; they are certainly in style for their week in Toronto! Knowledgeable and friendly staff helped style the girls and find their sizes. The girls are very happy with their new clothes and are very excited to wear them throughout the week. They bought so much, they might need an air freight to take it all home. The media was there, and so was Queen West girl, to interview the girls and find out more about the new Stylexchange location.

Rimmel London Makeup Artist at Stylexchange:

Rimmel London, another sponsor of the Miss Teenage Canada show was there to perfect the girls’ beauty. Their beauty artist was there with her magical Rimmel London products which brought out the glow visible in every contestant. Each girl got a wonderful goodie bag filled with Rimmel cosmetics. Many of the girls are already playing with their products and experimenting with their eye shadows. We considered taking the girls to a Yorkville Salon, but with Rimmel london there, we knew they would be in good hands.

On behalf of the girls we want to say a HUGE thank you to Stylexchange and Rimmel London for planning this incredible event. The girls had a great time and received wonderful experiences and products.

On Sunday night, the Miss Teenage Canada finalists had the opportunity to experience a seminar with acclaimed author and on-set tutor, Andrea Dana. Inspired by her experiences as the on-set teacher for child celebrities on major Hollywood projects, Andrea is the author of two novels, Starsitter, and Starsitter, Thank God for You!

Tuesday was a day filled with rehearsals, both before and after lunch! They were hard work but the girls need to know exactly what to do the day of the show so that they can be truly confident on stage.

Rehearsals for the Show:

The day started with choreography rehearsals with Shawn Cuffie–this was the girls’ first introduction to this year’s music and dance. The practice took place in the hotel but a mock stage was laid out to make sure the ladies know exactly where to go. There were a lot of staging questions, but to ensure that everything flows smoothly the day of the show, the girls had to get their moves perfectly memorized. The songs were picked out by popular demand, and girls that weren’t directly being coached got to dance around and enjoy the music. The girls have been helping each other practice the dance moves and picking each other up if one trips on their heels. It’s incredible to see them becoming best friends and turning into other’s support systems. Chris Fry was in attendance and he helped the girls who weren’t in choreography training with some extra “walk” coaching.

On Monday July 11, our day began early – we (the contestants and coordinators of Miss Teenage Canada) were up early to eat a delicious breakfast before we went off for our Hippo Tour of Toronto. This tour allowed the girls a great opportunity to get to know one another and check out some of Toronto’s best high lights. We had the pleasure of having E talk along for the ride. They helped document our day and get the memories on tape.

Since voting has begun, we figured it would be important to do a step-by-step post on, “How to Vote.” You only get one vote per email and because of that, we want to make sure that you are doing it correctly and that there are no discrepancies. <!–more–>

Step 1:

Click on the link below. You will be directed to sign up as a VIP on the Miss Teenage Canada website. You will be asked to enter information, such as your name and email, and then sent a verification email to the email you provided. Here is the link to the VIP sign up on the Miss Teenage Canada site.

Step 2:

Once you have received your verification e-mail, you will be asked to verify your email address and activate your account. To do this, simply click on the link provided in the email. You must click the link in order to be added to the Miss Teenage Canada site and be given voting privileges. Please make sure to check your junk mail and to display all the images so you can see the email in its entirety.

Step 3:

After you have made your decision on which girl you want to vote for, find the finalist’s page. When you click on her page, there will be a section for you to enter your email address for a vote. After you have put in your email, simply click enter and cast your vote.

Step 4:

After casting your vote, you will need to go back into your email and verify your vote. Once you click on the link in the email, you will be transferred to the girl of choice’s page with a “Your Vote has been successfully added.”

Don’t forget to help out the girl of choice and promote her page. Get her as many votes as possible.

We all know the importance of social media and creating a positive digital footprint. For the last 3 years, Rob Campbell has worked with the teens of the show introducing them to the world of blogging, and he is back again this year to help the new batch of beauties learn about their online presence. The great thing about this show is that it exposes the girls to new things. It also helps them adjust and grasp new strategies.

Welcome to the Miss Teenage Canada Blog! This is the best place to find out about the show and receive updates.

A message from Michelle W:

The most successful shows on TV always revolve around female drama. But I’m here to tell you that this isn’t real life, it just makes for good television. All of the Miss Teens have been friendly and excited to share a special experience with others. It is comforting to know you are traveling to a location to make 75 new friends.

July 26th, 2014, Toronto Ontario, Francesca McFadden, 17, was crowned Miss Teenage Canada, 2014 at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre. Francesca is passionate about education and received the Academic Brilliance award at her high school with a 96% average. This September, she will be studying Medical Sciences at McGill University in Montreal and plans to become a surgeon. Francesca volunteered at Sunnybrook Hospital in the Reconstructive Surgery Department for a year and also raised over $2,200 dollars for Free the Children

Luke Bilyk is a Canadian Actor, Currently Best known for his role in Degrassi as Drew Torres-Started in Season 10, Luke has also starred in Numerous Film & Television to name a few~Dry Wiskey, Cartoon Gene (Pilot), Gooby The Movie, recurring role on Really Me & starred in Flashpoint-“TheWar Within”, Host- America’s Next Top Model Live 2012, Cast “Party With Degrassi” Mini Tour 5 cities in the USA and featured in 20+ TV Commercials.

Cynthia Loewen is currently studying Biological Sciences and French in the Faculty of Arts and Science at the University of Windsor. Having competed in pageantry since the age of 16, Cynthia holds the title of Miss Teenage South-Western Ontario 2010, and Miss Earth Ontario 2012. She placed first runner-up to Miss Earth Canada 2012, and placed second-runner up at the Miss Face of Beauty International pageant in Thailand in December of that year, while representing Canada. Having a strong background knowledge in biological conservation, Cynthia has founded and implemented a bilingual “Green Education” program in local schools. During her reign as Miss Earth Ontario, she attended over twenty appearances, and became actively involved with organizations such as the Windsor-Essex Conservation Authority and WaterCan. Her current projects include, her role as President in the Omicron Nu Chapter of Delta Zeta International Sorority, and her involvement in a multitude of campus organizations.

We are accepting applications to compete in the provincial preliminary pageants. Competing at your provinces preliminary pageant is your first step to becoming Miss Teenage Canada 2014! Fill out the application form here and you could be on your way to your provincial pageant then to Toronto for the finals in July!

This week has been full of amazing activities and experiences for our contestants. Everything from watching MUCH MUSIC live to visiting the Toronto Zoo.

To kick things off, all 75 contestants went to Union Studio to participate in one of the best yoga classes in the city. Everyone was rejuvenated and feeling great after the work out. Not only was this good preparation for the competition, but it gave the contestants time to slow down and do something healthy for their minds and bodies. http://www.unionstudio.ca/

Tuesday afternoon, the contestants went to the Toronto Eaton Centre for an action-packed evening. They started at Garage Clothing with $50 gift cards to buy whatever fashion items their hearts desired. After they had all purchased their favourite clothing items, the contestants were able to go get dinner at the Toronto Eaton Centre’s Urban Eatery. The selection of places to eat is unbelievable. All of the ladies left with full stomachs and full shopping bags.

On Wednesday, our contestants had the privilege of visiting the Giant Pandas at the Toronto Zoo. Of course they all wore their Hi-Tec shoes to walk around! A perfect summer morning spent at one of Toronto’s best spots!

Wednesday night was dinner and a show at the Medieval Times’ Toronto Castle. A great meal with phenomenal entertainment was the perfect way to end the day! http://www.medievaltimes.com/

All of our contestants had the opportunity to go shopping at Costa Blanca located in Yorkdale Shopping Centre. With so many fashionable items, it was hard for each young lady to decide what to buy!

The 75 contestants ran around the store filling their arms with all of their favourite items to try on. Accessories, shoes, dresses, tops, bottoms and all at an affordable price! They each had a $50 gift card to spend and they definitely found some great pieces!

MTC-W kicked off the beginning of an action packed week with a fabulous welcome party hosted by some of the 2013 MTC-W sponsors including Schwarzkopf Professional, ps by prettysweet and Golden Glamour Goddesses. The 75 gorgeous contestants filled the banquet room at the Holiday Inn, wearing their pretty dresses, sashes and fancy shoes. Each one of them showing off their individual style and smiles. The teen girls circled the room in groups visiting each sponsor and collecting generous swag bags filled with amazing gifts.

Schwarzkopf Professional had a table set-up with product while a representative showed all of the ladies how to use the best hair-care products on the market. The ladies received product of their own and will also have their hair done for the final pageant with Schwarzkopf Professional styling products. The pageant winner will receive a gift pack including hair-care products for a year! www.schwarzkopf-professional.ca

Over at the next table, Golden Glamour Goddesses were demonstrating their mobile beauty services which specialize in spray tanning, airbrush makeup, hairstyling and eyelash extensions. Their amazing services will be assisting the contestants to prepare for the pageant. The first, second and third place finalists will also receive an unbelievable prize package. www.GGGoddesses.com

Hi-Tec Canada, set-up an amazing fitting booth where each contestant was personally fit for a pair of shoes of their choice. With four different colours and two different styles to choose from, each contestant left the fitting booth excited and happy with their new shoes. They will be able to see the Toronto sites in some of the most high-quality yet stylish footwear there is. www.hi-tec.com/ca

ps by prettysweet had a lovely booth full of sweets set-up for the contestants. Each contestant could take a cookie and write their name on it with edible markers. Brownies, shortbread and cupcakes were consumed by all!

Free The Children representatives chatted with each contestant about where their fundraising money would be going and the wide range of opportunities for youth to make a difference. www.freethechildren.com

Eighty contestants from across the country will compete for the title of Miss Teenage Canada in Toronto TORONTO, ON – Eighty of Canada’s best and brightest teenaged women will take over Toronto July 13th -20th as they compete for the title of Miss Teenage Canada 2013. The girls-donned in their crowns and sashes-will take in the sights and attractions of the city, engage in fundraising and leadership challenges and prepare for the big competition on Saturday, July 20th at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre at 8:00pm. Now in its sixth year, this years contest is the biggest yet. The girls face rigorous competition as they step up to the stage in hopes of becoming Canada’s next beauty and goodwill ambassadors. Last years Miss Teenage Canada 2012 Winner, Megha Sandhu, is a Health Sciences student at Marianapolis College. She is enthusiastic about the performing arts and has a desire to promote awareness for special needs children in school environments. This past year, she traveled to Guatemala to represent Canada on an international level. She also had the opportunity to speak to over 20,000 youth at ‘We Day’ spreading a positive message. This summer, Megha will travel to Kenya for three weeks on a Me To We service trip where she will continue to spread a message of positivity through building a school and engaging with the local community. The reigning Miss Teen Canada – World, Megha Sandhu of Montreal will crown her successor at The 6th annual Miss Teenage Canada Competition on July 20th 2013 at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre Hosted by Degrassi’s Luke Bilyk “Our motto is to ‘be your own kind of beautiful’ and that is reflected in every sense of the word,” Says Michelle Weswaldi, Director of Miss Teenage Canada. “It takes a lot more than a pretty smile to win the contest. It takes, brains, confidence and leadership.” Weswaldi prides the pageant on its resonating core values like charitable involvement, personal growth and leadership, all mixed with a healthy dose of competition. Recognizing the sometimes-warranted negative stigma attached to pageants, Miss Teenage Canada is committed to setting the highest standards of competition compared to other pageant systems. As a result, Miss Teenage Canada is Canada’s most recognized competition of its kind. “These are not your typical beauty queens, ” says Weswaldi. Ninety-five per cent of the contestants have never entered a pageant before. Miss Teenage Canada 2008 winner, Katie Starke, was a hockey-playing tomboy who had never walked in high heels before entering the competition. With a strong social responsibility component to the contest, each Miss Teenage Canada contestant is required to fundraise individually for the international children’s charity, Free The Children ( www.freethechildren.com) through local sponsors in their communities. Each winner of Miss Teenage Canada has the opportunity to travel to various parts of the world to visit the projects they have supported and to see first-hand the impacts of their fundraising with Free The Children. To date, the Miss Teen Canada- World organization has raised over $190,000 for Free The Children. Providing an opportunity for self-promotion and expression, each contestant has her own blog as a requirement and is judged on her social media activity. Thanks to this strong social media element- including a daily MTC-W blog and video blogs- friends, family and hometown fans can follow the girls’ adventures as they dazzle Toronto from the inside out. THE MAIN EVENT The 6th annual Miss Teenage Canada Competition takes place on July 20th 2013 at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre in Toronto, Ontario Canada at 8:00pm EST. The reigning Miss Teenage Canada 2012 Megha of Montreal will crown her successor. Canada’s top finalist from across the country aged 13-19 come together for a night of Glamour and Excitement. They will compete for over $30,000 in cash and prizes and one will walk away with the Crown. Hosted by Degrassi’s Luke Bilyk, a surprise guest performance and a celebrity-judging panel it promises to be a night to remember. Tickets are $55.00 + HST and can be purchased at http://tickets.ticketwindow.ca/eventperformances.asp?evt=1537 Delegates will also be presenting a cheque for a surprise amount to benefit Free The Children www.freethechildren.com This year the money will go to their new development in Kenya. A free live webcast of the event will be shown online at www.missteenagecanada.com to allow fans and family from a cross the country to tune in. ABOUT Miss Teenage Canada Now in its sixth year, Miss Teenage Canada is the Official Preliminary to 10 international pageants including the Miss Teen Universe Pageant. More than a pageant, the quest of Miss Teenage Canada is to find Canada’s brightest and best teen women from across the country. The competition provides a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to learn, grow, challenge oneself, participate in community-building initiatives and fight for an important cause. It provides a chance to make a meaningful difference in the lives of people both at home and around the world. Miss Teenage Canada is the only truly National competition with finalists representing all 10 provinces across Canada. Delegates are handpicked from thousands of applicants from all across the country. MEDIA CONTACT To request images or interviews with Miss Teenage Canada contestants during contest week or media passes to the July 2th contest at the Queen Elizabeth Theater please contact: Sarah Fukumoto MacIntyre Communications alison.stephens@depictpr.com sarah@macintyrecommunications.com 647-801-3665

We are excited to announce Belinda Kiriakou as one of our Judges and are thrilled to welcome her to the team has our Health and Fitness Advisor!
Belinda is the owner and head trainer of fight2befit, is a fitness and lifestyle coach, a published fitness and bikini model and a health and fitness columnist!
Welcome aboard Belinda!

This past weekend, I was able to travel to Toronto where the new Miss Teen Ontario World 2013 would be crowned along with other finalists. The first day I arrived, the girls were busy rehearsing for the final night show. In fact, it was almost as if I was having a flashback, seeing as, just a few months back, I myself was competing for the Quebec title at my pronvincial pageant. I remember rehearsing for countless hours just as these girls were. In other words, I could certainly relate to both the excitement and anxiety they were experiencing.

Becoming a title holder is certainly no easy task, it involves countles hours spent in rehearsals, trying to perfect your every move. Thank god we have the help of our fabulous choreographers!

What was amazing was that before I even knew it, the night of the final show had arrived and it was time for the girls to prove themselves to the judges. What I love most about this event, is that it really showcases who the girls are and what they stand for. This is why Miss Teen Canada has a platform portion, to see what interests and motivates the girls. I for one was so excited and touched after hearing the girls’ stories back stage. From bullying, environmental awareness, building positive self-image, volunteerism to mentoring-you name it, these girls had it down!

I would like to congratulate 17 year old Bianca Carelli from Totonto for obtaining the title of Miss Teen Ontario! What a sweet and talented girl she is!

Organizing a pageant like Miss Teen Ontario is certainly no easy task. I would like to thank everyone who participated and made this event a success. From make up artists, hair stylists, choreographers, etc this event would of never been possible without you all.

One important thing that I hope comes across is that, regardless of the night’s results, I urge the girls to continue to pursue their goals in life and to never give up on their dreams (regardless of how cliche that may sound). In my eyes, they are all winners and I hope that they will embody the young confident women that I know they are.

Myself and the beautiful Sacha Stewart (Miss Teen Ontario 2012) before the show

Danielle Frebrowski also known as Miss Teen Rockyview County World 2010 has just returned form her trip to Ecuador with Free the Children. Danielle’s trip lasted almost three weeks as she travelled to 2 different communities to help build schools and took a tour of the Amazon Rainforest.

Visiting the Community of Shuid:

The first community Danielle visited was Shuid. Here she was given numerous opportunities to help out, as was the case throughout her trip – there is so much work to be done! But in Shuid she was not there just to build a school – at this destination, and all through her journey, she learned about leadership and responsibility.

Danielle was put in charge of delegating tasks and making sure that the team’s spirits were high while working towards their goal. The trip focused on building schools, but Free the Children wanted to focus on life lessons. The group was divided into teams given the challenge to provide for their “family” on a budget. After assessing their responsibilities the team was left with $0.77 to provide a meal for 7. With their money, they were able to buy two bags of rice and 2 stems of broccoli. This was a big wake up call to Danielle as she recalls spending $20.00 daily on a meal for herself. She recognizes the struggle of others and writes, “Overall this was an incredibly impacting opportunity, as I now will be more careful when it comes to not wasting food.”

Danielle at The Community of Chismaute:

The second community Danielle visited was Chismaute. This is where she met a young woman named Maria. This lady was a very special part of her community, because she’s part of a small group of local girls that had the opportunity to get an education and graduate from school. This is very difficult for a woman to do in the community because women do not receive the same rights as men. Talking to Maria and sharing in her experiences was very motivating.

Danielle wrote about Maria and her struggle to become the President of the Community in her blog. Maria won the majority of the votes because people wanted to see her fail. Instead, Maria rose to the challenge and has been very successful with her title.

After meeting Maria, the team went on to building the school in the community.

Danielle was put in charge of drawing the mural in the cafeteria. Danielle decided to draw water bubbles to promote cleanliness and add some color to the room.

Experience at the Amazon Rainforest:

The next day, Danielle along with the team had to be up at 6 AM for their 10 hour drive to the Amazon Rainforest. Danielle wrote about her experience in the Amazon saying “Walking in the jungle was an experience I’ll never forget. The sounds, the smells, the animals we encountered, it was really amazing to have so much biodiversity around us.” While at the Rainforest, she also got to meet an indigenous Medicine man and took part in a cleansing ceremony. After, she learned how to cook and clean fish and bugs. After leaving the Amazon, Danielle and her team headed towards Quito to begin her journey home. You can read more about this trip-of-a-lifetime in Danielle Frebrowski in Ecuador with Free The Children.

It feels so weird to be at university already! It’s like I’m still on vacation, and I am going home next week for another year at high school. It’s even weirder to think that this new city, Montreal, is literally going to be my second home for the next four years (or more!). At least I get a little bit of home by staying in another smaller version of the concrete jungle that is Toronto. I honestly can’t wait to start exploring a little bit more and seeing what I can do to help. Since I grew up in Toronto my whole life, I’ve known about all Toronto charities there to help out with, and I can’t wait to find new places here!

For any of you who are heading off to university very soon (or a boarding school), I have found out many things that you are definitely going to want in your residence/dorm room/apartment. I’m sure I will discover more things as my time goes on here. Anyways here are my top three things;

Good Luck for everyone trying to figure out what to pack for school!

1. A mattress comforter — you feel like you are sleeping on a cloud but it really doesn’t help when you need to get out of bed in the morning

2. Tea, Tea, Tea. I don’t know why, but I just love to have this when I am studying – it helps me relax and focus.

3. Air Freshener – Sometimes the ones you put in your car really do the trick quite nicely! Even if you don’t consider yourself to be a “smelly” person, you will love the smell of your room.

I actually had to move in a week early for the university’s Varsity Field Hockey team try outs, and I am very happy right now that I made the team! To any of you college/university seekers out there looking to play sports at university, be prepared to be dedicated. I mean it.

Not only are try outs going to be a way to whip you into shape after a lazy (yet lovely!) summer, but practices during the season are intense too. Put it this way- for field hockey, they consist of three 6:30 AM practices a week plus fitness training sessions in the gym. Now I am not trying to scare you out of this, at all. It is an amazing opportunity to not only to stay in shape (especially to avoid those freshman 15) but also meet people who share the same interests as you. From what I have heard, your team basically becomes your family – you train together, sweat together, win together.

Anyways, tomorrow morning is our first early morning practice and it is also the first day of school. I have no idea what to think right now. For the first time I am starting to feel very nervous. I mean I have massive lecture halls of about six hundred people! This is for classes such as biology, chemistry, calculus and physics since I am currently in the Biomedical program (still trying to figure out to transfer to engineering but that is a whole other boring story since I just got new advice from a person called an “academic advisor”).

Think the 2010 National Finalists look fabulous in their Official Photo Shoot! You have have that hair too! Check out the hottest Salon in the TDOT Salon Elias 799 Danforth Avenue Toronto, ON M4J 1L2 – (416) 466-0887

Hello and welcome to the brand new Miss Teenage Canada website! Packed with contest details, finalist profiles, bios, photos and up to the latest minute contestant information, its bigger and better than ever before. Be sure to come back again and again as the site will be updated every day leading up to, including and after the big night of the MTCW National Finals Event at the Metro Convention Centre in Toronto on July 17…